Carrion
by HigherMagic
Summary: Dean is on a team of paranormal investigators and they know they've struck gold when, within minutes of being inside one of the top ten most haunted sites in the US, they get several strong sightings. When the ghosts start being a lot more active than they'd anticipated, the team knows they're in for a Hell of a ride, and that's not even counting the man they find upstairs.
1. Chapter 1

**Title: **Carrion  
><strong>Author:<strong> HigherMagic  
><strong>Artist: <strong>ravylin  
><strong>Rating:<strong> R  
><strong>PairingsCharacters: **Dean/Castiel, past non-explicit Castiel/Gabriel  
><strong>Spoilers:<strong> None  
><strong>Warnings:<strong> character death (canon, non-main); violence/murder; language; mentions of past child abuse, neglect, religious extremism, sexual slavery and assault (not Dean/Cas); in this story Castiel and Gabriel are brothers.  
><strong>Word Count: <strong>~35k  
><strong>Summary:<strong> Dean is on a team of paranormal investigators and they know they've struck gold when, within minutes of being inside one of the top ten most haunted sites in the US, they get several strong sightings. When the ghosts start being a lot more active than they'd anticipated, the team knows they're in for a Hell of a ride, especially when they start hearing strange noises from upstairs and encounter not only the most powerful spirit they've ever seen, but a real, living flesh-and-blood Omega who desperately needs their help.  
><strong>Notes:<strong> Dean, Sam, Gabriel and Charlie are Alphas, Benny and Jo are Betas and Castiel is an Omega. Also worth noting is that there are very heavy, dramatic and troubling scenes within. I have tried to warn for as many things as I can, but please be careful and don't hesitate to ask me if you are worried about anything potentially triggering that might be in the story.

Beta'd by the ever-fabulous Eliza.

Please note that because of the way FF is set up, I've broken this story down in ways different from the way I'd originally chosen. For the full impact and the way I originally wanted to post it, head on over to my AO3, under the same name. I think it'll give the story a lot more impact that way.

* * *

><p>Castiel wrapped his hands around his biceps, rubbing up and down in a vain attempt to keep himself warm, his breath misting in front of him as he carefully navigated the rotting stairway into the basement beneath the hotel.<p>

Hands reached out and brushed along his dirty sleeves, and Castiel forced himself not to flinch away and bare his teeth. No one would hurt him down here, he knew, and even if he tried, he couldn't hurt them back.

He reached out to a familiar hand, one with distinct blood spattering and claw marks around the wrist. "I'm hungry," he whispered, pulling on the hand until the rest of the torn, blood-marred body appeared into the low light. The Omega's big eyes were whited out in death, his mouth hung open and gaping to reveal big, white teeth. His throat was slashed open from edge to edge, a clean cut right across the neck. Horrible way to die.

The Omega nodded, jaw bouncing loosely up and down. Over his shoulder, a willowy girl with long brown hair and eyes that still held a bit of gold stared at him, her fingers kneading worriedly at the torn remains of her dress.

Castiel swallowed. "Do you know where any food is?"

The male Omega pulled his hand away, raising it to point towards the dark end of the basement. Castiel shook his head, pulling back. "I don't want to go up there," he said. That was where the skeletons were; he had found it before, trying to run from the hotel. Huge, gaping maws filled with yellowed teeth and flesh still stuck to the bones. He hoped that that was not what the spirits meant; he had no desire to eat what he assumed had once been a fellow Omega.

The female Omega scurried forward, grabbing his hand, and Castiel yanked it harshly away. "No!" he growled firmly, guilty when her eyes widened and she ran away, quickly disappearing into the darkness. "I don't want to go over there."

A chill touch to his shoulder made him turn around, and Castiel quickly moved so his back was against the wall, glaring at the new apparition. He breathed out, shaking his head, and tilted his head back against the wall until he could feel the moisture from the cold bricks seeping through his dirty hair.

He closed his eyes. "I don't want to go over there, Gabriel," he murmured. A freezing hand touched his face, and he opened his eyes again, sagging against the wall. The Alpha still had his pretty amber eyes, lined with red, his fangs sharp and bared in what must have been his last moments of struggling. His stomach and throat had been slashed wide open, jagged claw marks shredding his clothes that now hung, limp and loose, around his bloody body. His jaw had been ripped off and hung from pieces of stubborn skin, his tongue limp and bright red dangling below his upper teeth.

When Castiel had first seen him like this, he had been so horrified that he had run to his room and refused to come out for days. Now, the sight only filled him with sadness and revulsion, but Gabriel was his brother and the one spirit he knew would never, ever hurt him, no matter how long he was here.

Gabriel tilted his head to one side, his cheeks bulging and his brows drawn together in a sad smile, before he took Castiel's hand and led him towards the back of the basement, where the great hulking chimney breast sat like an open maw to the abyss. Castiel hated coming down here, in this far, as though the darkness within the chimney could come out and swallow him whole and the hotel would eat him alive like the rest of them.

Gabriel pressed a bloody finger to his upper lip and tilted his head to one side. Obediently, Castiel mimicked him, pressing his free hand and his ear to the mantle. After a few slow, soft breaths, he heard the skitter of rats.

"Oh," he said softly, drawing away, his eyes following the thick trunk of the chimney upwards, where it disappeared into the room above. Then, he turned back and found the blank, white eyes of the Omegas. "Thank you. I'm sorry I doubted you."

The girl smiled, and the male nodded, and they disappeared again. Gabriel was gone when Castiel began to climb up the chimney to find his meal.

* * *

><p>"Alright guys, we locked and loaded?"<p>

Sam lifted his head, grinning at the chorus of assent that greeted him. Dean hefted one of the duffle bags over his shoulder, jerking his head in the direction of the old, faded black doors.

"Let's do this."

* * *

><p>Castiel shied away from the loud banging footsteps coming from downstairs. His fingers were shaking and he pulled his upper lip back over his teeth.<p>

They were back.

She'd be angry.

He ran downstairs, only to find them already heading into the innards of the hotel, heavy black duffels slung over their shoulders or tucked underneath their arms – three big, hulking men and two women making up their team. Although he stood behind them, watching them leave, no one turned around or noticed his presence.

The air felt cold.

The chill grew sharper, like something was pressing against his throat. A hand.

They disappeared around the corner, and Castiel let out a hard puff of breath, pushing the heel of his right hand against his throbbing forehead. He heard a short, quiet breath to his left and flinched back, growling on instinct and lashing out although his hand met nothing but air.

His anxiety felt like a cold knot in the pit of his stomach and, breathing hard and shaking, he ran back upstairs and slammed the door to his room as hard as he dared.

He crawled into the big, low mattress that had become his bed and hid underneath the blankets, trying to make himself smaller, to make himself disappear. Maybe she wouldn't be angry. Maybe she wouldn't be mean.

Castiel didn't pray anymore, but it was a stupid, too-human instinct to hold out hope. He closed his eyes and listened to the five strangers downstairs, clacking and creaking away without a care in the world, and he hoped.

* * *

><p>"Sammy, you got the readers set up?" Dean asked, looking up briefly from his own handheld camcorder. His device was one of the simpler ones – older designs that were less easy to fuck up and make stop. The fewer components there were to screw up, the better the thing tended to work.<p>

Sam lifted his shoulder camera in answer, nodding. "Yep, and I think Charlie's got the EMF set up and -."

"Damn straight!" Charlie's chipper voice cut through the brothers' conversation, the Alpha hoisting up her ghost box and pulling one of her giant headphone pieces across her ear, leaving the other one pressed against the side of her head.

"Hey, Dean," Benny grunted, hefting the heavy camera over his shoulder, flashlight on and aimed for Dean's face. "Smile pretty." Dean rolled his eyes and flipped the middle finger over at the Beta's direction. "C'mon, sugar, tell us where we are."

"Right, right." Dean sighed, glad that the grey night-light footage wouldn't show his blush. It was crazy how tingly Benny's accent got him sometimes. "So, here we are, in the _Eldridge Hotel _in Lawrence, Kansas, one of the most haunted places in North America – and conveniently close to home, right Sammy?"

Benny obediently shifted the camera to Sam, leaving Dean to go check on the other equipment, and the second Alpha tossed his long hair out of his face, grinning and waving. "Yep, Dean and I found this place on the top ten most haunted sites in the U.S., and earlier today we were talkin' with the owner, who says there've been more than thirty reports of spirits seen in and around the area." He paused a moment, pulling the strap of his EMF reader over his shoulder, before straightening. "Y'all already know me, Sam, and my brother Dean – we've got Charlie on the radio and playback, and Jo -."

"Joanna Beth's here 'cause her momma made me promise to look out for her," Dean interrupted with a sly smirk, narrowly ducking to avoid the sweatshirt thrown in his direction from the disgruntled blonde Beta.

"I'm here 'cause someone's gotta haul your idiot asses outta here when we see the fucked up joojoo in this hotel."

"'Joojoo', of course, being the technical term," Dean replied with a grin, reaching out to ruffle her mane of blonde hair. "Nah, but Jo's manning our second camera after Benny, and she's gonna be in charge of the setup with Sammy for our static cameras and PX. Apparently we're gonna wanna focus on room 109 and the basement."

Benny huffed a laugh. "Savin' the best for last, Winchester?"

Dean rolled his eyes. "Oh yeah, and Benny's our sex appeal," he teased, winking into the camera. "Also known as our main camera guy. So! Let's go." As one, the group grabbed their gear. Jo had set up a camera facing the stairway leading to the upper floor, and they left it running as the group headed up the stairs.

"Rumor has it back in the nineteen-forties there was a woman kept in the basement as a prisoner by the owner," Sam explained softly, his flashlight and Benny's camera light the only illumination through the screens aside from Dean's brightly glowing LCD camera screen, which was focused squarely ahead as the group moved. "She got pregnant, I guess, by the owner, and he kept her locked up in the basement and would leave the children in the local mines to die. She tried to crawl out of the basement through the chimney and died in the walls, which is why some of the sightings are seen in room 109."

Charlie made a gagging sound, and as Benny's camera shifted across Jo's face, the Beta's disgust was clearly evident.

"She had, like, nine kids by this wacko," Dean continued, his head tilted up to the peak of the spiral staircase. "Another myth is that the Alpha kept a whole harem of Omegas who died in the basement from starvation, disease, whatever else. Alphas, it's said, are generally the targets of the hauntings."

"We were already here once, and nothing happened." Charlie's voice was soft, slightly out of breath from climbing the uneven, wide stairs. "Hopefully we'll get a better read here. Dean! Wasn't 109 this way?"

Dean paused, humming softly in question, his eyes still fixed on the staircase leading upwards. It wasn't until Benny's light focused on his face that the Alpha blinked, shaking his head as he returned back to himself. "What? Oh, right. Yeah. I just…"

"You okay, brother?" Benny asked, concerned. He pointed his camera up but couldn't see anything through the normal screen, nor did there appear to be anything when he used the night vision, or the infra-red camera.

Dean frowned, his nostrils flaring as he took a deep breath, before he shook his head. "I just got this weird energy…. Anyway, it's fine. Let's go set up the cameras and PX and see who we can piss off." His smile was a little strained, but in the blackness of the new moon night no one seemed to notice. He led the way down the corridor to room 109, and there was little disturbance as they set up the monitoring equipment.

* * *

><p>Castiel tensed up, hearing the slow clack of high heeled shoes approaching his room. He curled up as tightly as he could underneath his single thin, dirty blanket and pushed his back into a corner, and refused to open his eyes. The footsteps were coming down corridor, outside of his door, and he could feel sweat prickle on the back of his neck as he felt them coming closer.<p>

They stopped outside of his room, and he took in a deep breath, holding it, and refused to open his eyes.

His fingers tightened around his blanket, and he waited, and he waited, breath held.

He was invisible.

He was invisible.

She couldn't find him.

A cold trickle crept down the back of his neck, burning across the mating mark at his nape. The Omega squeezed his eyes even tighter, biting his lip hard to stop a whimper escaping.

His heartbeat would give him away.

His breathing would give him away.

He wasn't here.

The cold sensation abruptly vanished, and Castiel breathed out.

A freezing hand wrapped around his ankle and hauled him off of his mattress. He kicked and screamed as he was torn from the blankets and looked up into a pair of wide, lidless red eyes – the eyes of a feral Alpha. Black hair fell thick around her face, her nails long and cold when they sank into the flesh of his ankle.

He screamed and screamed and kicked but she wouldn't let go. Her fangs were fully bared and he knew if he didn't get away that she would eat him – like she'd eaten the others.

His nails dug into the floor as he kicked at her. She shrieked and her other hand closed around his throat, but she was skin and bone – he hadn't wasted away like she had. He wrapped his legs around her waist and pushed up with his body, and with one hand he managed to unhook her claws from around his neck.

"Let go of me!" he yelled, his free fist curling. She hissed and ripped at his ankle, up his calf, up his leg until the Omega froze and flinched back. "Let go! I'm sorry! I'm_ sorry_!"

"Why are they _here_, little whore?" the Alpha shrieked again, her teeth lined with blood and aiming for Castiel's throat. "Make them leave!" Her cold fist landed hard against Castiel's side and he shuddered, choking on his inhale. "Devil child!"

She was stronger than him, her rage and her breed giving her strength he couldn't fight against – his instinct hadn't died; his need to survive and to hope had not died. He felt nails sink into the back of his neck, and he went limp, thrown down to the floor on his stomach and knees.

She hissed again, air escaping between her parted fangs, and crawled over his body until she was sitting on the small of his back. Her hot, rancid breath brushed over the nape of his bleeding neck and the Omega shivered, submitting with a low, rough sound. "Make them _leave_," she commanded, her nails tightening until Castiel whined, nodding frantically.

"I will," he promised, pressing his hands flat against the floor, spreading out his thighs so that he was exposed, submitting to her as best he could in the position she had forced him into.

She hissed, tightening her hand just a little once more, before she was gone within another blink of the eye, another beat of Castiel's hammering heart. The cold trickle on the back of his neck was replaced with the hot gush of his blood, and the Omega drew in a shuddering breath, forcing himself up onto his hands and knees and crawling back to his mattress.

He collapsed onto it with a low sob, curling himself back up in the stale, gross-smelling blanket. The air was dank and musty, his crying the only sound to disturb the unmoving air. If he listened very closely, he imagined he could hear the rats skittering behind the walls, and the dull steps and heavy laughter of the living downstairs.

They had to leave. Or they had to die. Otherwise she would be angry.

His tears tasted bitter and sour on his tongue, and Castiel had to wonder how he managed to cry at all, nowadays. Pushing himself back up, he wrapped his blanket around his shoulders and left his room. She wasn't waiting outside for him, and none of the others made an appearance as he began to walk away from his room.

He had to make them leave. Otherwise she would be angry. And when _she _was angry, _he_ would come and punish Castiel.

A heavy shudder ran through every part of him at the thought, and he bit his lip again, shuffling towards the stairs. He had to make them leave.

* * *

><p>"The PX was invented by Doctor Bobby Singer, who's a leader of the paranormal investigative world – basically it translates electrical pulses, the kind Charlie's EMF reader would pick up, into a pre-put in vocabulary. The same kind of technology is used for Hawking's computer; this is just reading electrical pulses rather than eye movement."<p>

"Science shit aside," Dean said, grinning into the camera, "it's saved our asses more than once. The really nasty spirits tend to be the ones who will use the PX – make it spike all over the place. It's been the trend that less malevolent ghosts and spirits get picked up on the recorder's playback. Not a law, of course, but that's the pattern we've found most of the time."

Jo huffed, pushing herself to her feet. "Batteries are good, and I've got a recorder goin' too. Circle back in an hour?"

"Yeah," Dean said, nodding. "Let's start doing circuits upstairs."

Sam frowned. "Shouldn't we go set up in the basement too? I mean, that's where most of the apparitions and stuff takes place in testimonies."

There was a moment of silence in which Dean hesitated. "Uh. Yeah. Right. Of course. Basement. Let's go to the basement."

Benny's camera swooped from Jo over to Dean, catching Charlie's concerned look as well as the hand Sam placed on his brother's shoulder. "You feeling okay, Dean?"

The Alpha shook his head. "Nah, I just feel really…dizzy, all of a sudden. Like I've just been dumped in water." He looked up, searching their faces, and then looking towards the light on Benny's camera. "None of you guys are feeling that?"

"No," Jo said, shaking her head.

"Guys, look," Benny murmured, focusing his light on the bare skin of Dean's forearms, below the roll of his shirt sleeves. The hairs on his arms stood right on end, and even with the low-grade and blurry shot his goosebumps were clearly visible along the flesh.

"Holy shit," Charlie whispered, brushing her fingers up Dean's arm.

"Uh." Sam pulled back, swallowing, and pulled Benny's camera towards his face. "Sometimes, when we get near the spirits and stuff, it manifests in chills, or sometimes – when you feel the presence, your whole body feels it. The otherness."

"Dean, what do you feel?" Charlie asked, pushing her hand through Dean's fingers and lacing them tightly. The Alpha was looking away from the group, back down the corridor from where they'd come.

He swallowed, shaking his head. "I just…. Nothing. It's passed." He sighed, sounding almost disappointed. "I felt like I'd been thrown into a pool of water, held down – this pressure on my chest, you know?" He looked away from the hallway, back towards the camera, then Sam, whose face was still illuminated by the light on Benny's camera. He sighed again. "The feeling passed. Let's go to the basement, set up there, but I really feel like if we go upstairs that's where the real gold mine is. Come on."

* * *

><p>As the team headed down the stairs, the air darkened in room 109. A dim, faint crackle broke the silence, along with a long, whining, mechanical "<em>Dean…"<em>.


	2. Chapter 2

Castiel's hands were shaking so badly, he felt like if he rested them against the wall they would shake the whole hotel apart. He had seen her numerous times on his way to the bathroom – the glass was cracked very badly from her screams, but it was enough for him to see his dirty, pale reflection within. The glass was stained with grime and mold, and he wished he could clean it. His hands itched to straighten and organize, but leaving here was impossible, and no such supplies existed in the hotel. She didn't like things to change, instead preferred the stench of decay to cover up Omega sweetness or Alpha musk.

Castiel turned around, sighing, and pushed the shower curtain aside to sit inside of the tub. She never came in here since her daughter spent most of the time in the bathroom, bleeding red from her clawed-out eyes.

She was sitting there when Castiel came to join her. Her lips had rotted away, showing her yellow teeth, and her eyes, though sightless, followed his movements as he sat down across from her and tucked his feet in tight against his thighs.

"There are more, Anna," he whispered to her, reaching out and letting his fingers twine in her long, dark hair. She used to have hair of the finest red, like a rich western sunset. Now it was black like his own and shone with grease and dirt. "Five of them. I need to make them leave. Will you help me?"

He wasn't sure if she could smile anymore, but she chirped and her eyelids fluttered once, before she launched herself into his arms, and through him, and disappeared. Castiel gasped, his eyes wide, and his heart felt frozen, shivering.

He sighed, and curled himself up tighter within the bathtub. His stomach felt taut and tight, and he absently picked at crusts of blood sticking to his thighs and to the thick scruff of his beard. As an Omega, it had taken him a very long time to resemble anything like what the Alphas could grow in a day. He had hoped it would lessen Castiel's appeal to _him_.

He'd been very, very wrong.

* * *

><p>In the front lobby, the cameras flickered, and the light blinked out.<p>

* * *

><p>After setting up the cameras in the basement, Sam sat back with a sigh, running his hands through his hair. "So, the basement is theoretically where most of the sightings have happened and we should be getting most of the appearances up here -."<p>

His words were abruptly cut off at a high pitched giggle, the sound of fast-paced feet pattering above their heads drawing the attention of the gathered five below. Benny hauled his camera up but could see nothing.

"Fuck, did you guys hear that?" Jo asked, already reaching for her EMF reader while Charlie slid the other headphone over her ear, her deft fingers switching the knobs on the ghost box to try and detect any voices.

"I heard it," Sam murmured, heading for the door. The others quickly followed, Charlie at a slower pace since she was trying to listen. They reached the bottom of the stairs and Sam froze, his flashlight pointed upwards. "Holy shit."

"What? What's -." Dean fell silent, Benny and Sam's flashlights illuminating the form of a mangled little girl. She couldn't have been more than five or six, blood coating her cheeks, running down from her missing eyes. They looked like they had been burned right out of her, and her hair hung down in greasy, thin strands. Her originally white dress was now stained with black grease and dust and bloody red handprints.

She grinned at them, tilting her head to one side as Jo swore. She lifted her hand and pointed towards them, her mouth moving silently.

"What's she saying?" Sam whispered, not daring to move his eyes from her. Dean turned around, fixing the camera behind them in an attempt to find what she was pointing at, but there was nothing. "Charlie, what the fuck is she saying?"

"I don't know, I fucking can't – Ow!" Abruptly Charlie threw her headphones off around her neck, covering her ears and wincing. A high-pitched whine sounded out from the ghost box, loud enough to make the other four flinch.

It was mostly static and abruptly the little girl rushed them. Dean didn't see it coming and it was left to Sam to haul him out of the way as the little girl ran down the stairs and straight through them, disappearing into the darkness beyond.

"Holy fuck! Benny, did you get that?" Jo asked, her voice frantic as Benny pointed his camera after her. "Holy shit, oh my God!"

"Are you okay, Charlie?" Sam asked the shaky Alpha. Charlie nodded, still covering her ears. "Fuck, okay, let's go back to the front room, see if the cameras saw her coming down, yeah? Get to where there's fucking light in this place."

As one, the five of them piled up the stairs and out of the basement area towards the main front hall. Charlie immediately sat down with the box, plugged it into her computer, and attempted to sort out the whining static that had been the little girl's attempt at communication.

"Fuck!" Jo hissed, helping Sam haul Dean towards the bottom step and onto it. "Did the records say anything about a little girl?"

Benny shook his head. "Nah, but maybe she's one of the kids of the harem victims?"

Dean shook his head, sighing heavily. "No records that any of them lived that long. The babies wouldn't have survived past infancy and that spirit had to be at least five." He scrubbed a hand over his face, his dark eyes fixed on Charlie. "Gettin' anything?"

Charlie shook her head, blowing her bangs out of her face with a frustrated huff. "I don't…wait…" Her eyes abruptly widened, and she yanked her headphones out of the jack, pushing on the space bar to rewind the recording clip. "Okay, so here we've got…" She fell silent as the sound of Sam's frantic questioning faded to a high-pitched, feminine voice.

"_Itsy bitsy Alpha climbed into mommy's bed  
>Mommy got mad and bashed him in the head<br>Mommy doesn't like you here inside the house  
>Run! If little Alpha can find the way out!<em>

The sound abruptly cut off into a loud screech, the static returning full force and interspersed with childish laughter that sent a chill down the listeners' backs. "Holy hell," Benny whispered when the audio cut off and, sobered, Charlie nodded.

"Mommy," Dean murmured, frowning, and drawing their attention as Benny shifted the camera to catch his face. "So she was one of the children. But who the fuck was the 'mommy'? It could be any of them – any of the Omegas that were kept here."

"What was the Alpha's name? Who kept them all?"

"Alistair Sutton," Jo piped up. "Big wacko back in the forties. Real elitist type – believed in the old harem laws."

"Was he married?" Dean asked.

Jo shook her head. "Not from what I read up on, no. But, I mean, did marriage even count in a harem?" She shrugged one shoulder. "I don't know. He's rumored to have had as many as thirty Omega and female concubines at one time but no living children."

Dean cursed softly under his breath. "Fucking psycho, feral _shits_," he growled, pushing himself to his feet quickly. The dizziness had mostly passed, but Sam still came forward to keep him steady until he regained his feet. "Let's go see what the PX picked up. If this asshole is still hangin' around, I wanna talk to him."

"Hey, brother?" Benny's voice stopped him, and the Alpha turned around to regard him. Benny looked pale, his wide eyes fixed on the quartered screen of his computer that was receiving feeds from the PX, the two static cameras as well as a live feed from Benny's shoulder camera. "You're gonna wanna see this."

Dean frowned, coming back down the stairs and pulling over one of the folding chairs to perch beside Benny. The other three gathered in a loose semi-circle around the pair as Benny rewound the footage.

"I was going through the feeds. I mean, I know we haven't been here too long but I figured it doesn't hurt, right? And look -." He paused the lobby footage and pressed 'Play', sitting back. Immediately, the group sucked in a collective breath as the lights flickered out and the screen went fuzzy.

Dean swallowed. "Don't suppose that's just electrical fuckery, is it?" he asked, and Benny shook his head. Dean sat back, holding his camera out so that it could capture their reactions as they watched the clip. "Pause it real quick." Benny obeyed. "So, guys, we've ah – we've had our first sighting. This little girl – can't figure out who she is, who she was meant to be, but she, ah, scared the shit outta us." He swallowed again, pointing the camera to his own arms. "I'm still getting those weird chills, and that drowning feeling."

"That's comin' back?" Sam stage-whispered, and Dean nodded over his shoulder. "Play the footage, Benny."

The Beta nodded, pressing the space bar on his computer to start the cameras rolling again. The lights flickered on and off several times, before the screen fuzzed out completely. When it came back on, a small, bloody man appeared very close to the camera. Jo jumped back, cursing loudly, and turned around immediately as though the apparition would show again.

The rest of them flinched in shock, until Dean leaned in to look closer. Blank, golden eyes (not the gold of an Omega, but darker, richer) stared at the camera, shifting in and out of focus as though the man was trying to look through the lens and into the innards of the camera.

When the thing drew back, there was a collective shocked, repulsed noise from the group. His jaw hung loosely from one side, blood marring his throat which was ripped open in grotesque claw marks. Whoever this man had been, he had clearly died horribly.

The ghost drew back, and pointed upwards. Sam looked up, knowing he wouldn't be able to see anything but still doing it, and found nothing but dark, cobweb-ridden ceiling above their heads.

"Upstairs," Dean whispered. "He wants us to go upstairs."

"To 109?" Charlie asked, frowning.

Dean shook his head, and kept watching. The ghost pointed up – he was a short man, with thick golden hair and a sharp nose.

"Do you think he's one of the Omegas?" Sam asked. "I thought ghosts that died in certain parts couldn't move past them. There have been no other sightings in other parts of the hotel, right?"

"No, that's not true!" Charlie said, snapping her fingers. "Remember the groundskeeper said he's seen two or three of them wandering around. And he never mentioned a little girl. Maybe there were others! Servants of the hotel? Employees -?"

"I don't get it." Jo was frowning. "Aren't most of these kinds of spirits just stuck in loops? They're all so…_animated_."

"Look at his clothes," Dean said, pushing his fingers against the screen to the thick, black outline of a watch around the apparition's wrist. "Look at what he's wearing, and the watch, the jeans – these things weren't in style when – remember the girl ghost? Old time shit, right?"

He shook his head, sitting back and folding his arms over his chest. "These are recent kills."

Jo shivered. "So there might be others."

"There anything else on this footage?" Sam asked, and Benny shook his head.

"No other sightings, brother."

Abruptly, Dean stood, grabbing his camera. "Well, let's go upstairs then!"

"Dean," Sam protested weakly, but still followed his brother upstairs, the rest of the gang in tow. "Do you think it's really wise to go on when we've got at least one hostile spirit and such a strong sighting already? Clearly we're dealing with some strong stuff here if several ghosts can manifest themselves so clearly."

"Sam." Dean rounded on the younger Alpha, his jaw set and flexing. "I wanna know what's goin' on in here. That ghost wasn't our Sutton guy, which means he's been killing people. I wanna help, and stop this shit, if I can – and if we can send this crazy son of a bitch back to the Pit then I sure as Hell wanna do that too. Don't you?"

Sam sighed after a moment, relenting with a nod before lifting his flashlight to join Benny's, illuminating the way. Charlie pushed one headphone back over her ear and began to retune her instruments while Jo took up the rear with Benny and a second handheld camera.

"Alright. Let's go to 109 and see if we can figure out what the Hell is going on here."

* * *

><p>Castiel's cry for help was stifled behind a freezing-cold hand as it was pressed against his mouth, another hand wrapped tight around his throat and keeping him pinned against the wall. He was not weak – he had muscle and strength from years of wrestling with his brothers and running, always running, and he was not weak, but he felt weak and <em>stupid<em> underneath her heated, feral stare. There was no defense for an Omega around an enraged Alpha – all they could do was submit and hope that their throat remained intact for another day.

He groaned as he felt her sharp nails sink around his throat, the scent of his own blood churning his stomach.

"Make them leave!" she screeched at him, her loosely-connected jaws working to form the words. "Devil child! Devil child!" She always smelled of death and decay now – there was nothing left in her to cow Castiel into submission aside from the red in her eyes and the terror slowly freezing in the Omega's chest.

"I'm -. I'm trying!" he yelled, for all the good it did him – no breath escaped him, only heat against her moist and cold palm. "I'm sorry!"

Her eyes flashed and she opened her mouth wide, her hand sliding slickly up his neck and grabbing his chin to haul his head to one side.

His eyes widened and he struggled harder, kicking at her legs and slamming his knuckles against her jaw. "No!" he yelled, his voice carrying too loudly, it seemed, in the quiet and creaking hotel. "No! Don't touch me! Don't -." His cries abruptly froze into a horrified sob as he felt her jaws sinking into the side of his neck, sliding through his flesh easily and bringing more of his blood to the surface, leaking down. "Please! Please, I'm sorry! Don't -."

Everyone knew what an Alpha's bite did to an Omega; what it meant for their hormones. Mate. Mating meant _he _would come. He would come and he would smell her claim on Castiel and he would rip Castiel's throat out with his teeth.

Just like she'd done with Gabriel.

Terrified, pained sounds spilled from him as she bit harder, deeper, sharp fangs sliding through his muscle and flesh until it felt like they were connecting around his windpipe. He couldn't breathe, too caught in the hysterical, frightened feeling of sharp teeth scraping against the cartilage in his throat. He pushed at her shoulders, yanked at her hair, and screamed as loudly as he could when he could barely breathe and no sound was coming out.

Abruptly she let him go and he fell to the ground with a heavy thud, curling up on himself tightly and whimpering as he pressed a hand tightly to his throat in a vain attempt to stop the bleeding. It wasn't working, though – he could feel his vision fading, blackening around the edges.

Her lips were blood-lined and she grinned down at him. "Make them leave," she whispered, crouching down and brushing his sweaty hair back from his face with what could be a tender touch, as he stared at her with wide, frightened eyes. "Or I will make you leave. Do you understand?"

He nodded frantically but could not get his mouth to move or his words to come out, and she grinned at him. "Good."

When she disappeared, he rolled carefully onto his back and pushed his hand tight to his throat. He had to find something to stop the bleeding. The air around him got very cold and Castiel whimpered, fearing she might have returned, but when he opened his eyes Gabriel was there. The Alpha knelt down, and he was holding Castiel's thin, gross blanket. It was the only thing he could use, and Castiel allowed himself to be pulled upright as Gabriel tore the sheet into a thick strip and began to wrap it around his neck.

"Don't," he whispered, his voice coming out soft and faint. He pushed at Gabriel's shoulder in a vain attempt to get him to move. "Don't. I want to die. Please. Don't -."

Gabriel growled, the sound throaty and wet because his mouth couldn't form the proper sounds anymore, and Castiel tilted his head back, salty tears running down his cheeks. "Please, Gabriel, let me die."

The Alpha shook his head violently, loose jaw swinging. He couldn't speak anymore, but when he cupped Castiel's face and rested their foreheads together, Castiel understood. He had to hold on – he _had _to survive.

Gabriel pressed a finger to his upper lip and cocked his head to one side, and obediently Castiel turned his head to listen. He could hear faint thumping footsteps – they hadn't left yet, otherwise _she_ would have left him alone and wouldn't have attacked him. So Anna must have failed to scare them away.

The Omega breathed out heavily. His throat felt raw and it hurt to swallow or breathe through his mouth. He just needed to rest.

"Just a moment," he said, pawing at Gabriel's shoulder when the Alpha tried to get him to move. "I just…" His eyes closed – he was invisible. No one could see him. No one could hurt him when he had his eyes closed. Everyone was blind in here anyway except for _him_, and then it wouldn't matter.

Gabriel huffed, pushing himself upright again. His brother was alive – that was the important thing.

He had tried, but clearly he needed to try harder.

Gabriel turned and ran back down the hallway, towards the footsteps he could hear below.

* * *

><p>They were almost to 109 when Charlie screeched, dropping her headphones and covering her ears again. "Mother of sweet baby <em>crap<em>!" she hissed, wincing and rubbing her temples.

"You okay?" Benny asked, swinging the camera over to see her. Then, he jumped back with a startled yell, a loud "Son of a-" escaping him. Immediately Charlie turned around, searching back the way they'd come.

"What did you see?" Dean demanded, coming up and wrapping an arm around Charlie's shoulders.

"There was -." Benny stopped, the camera briefly tilting down as he switched to infra-red vision. "Guys, damn, come look at this. There's a huge purple cloud behind Charlie!"

Dean pulled Charlie away from it, and the cloud didn't move. "Anyone sayin' anything?" he stage-whispered to her and, breathing shakily, she reset her headphones and began searching the frequencies.

"Hello?" Jo asked, holding up a recorder. "Is there anyone there?" Sam took her camera from her to keep her in the shot. "You have nothing to fear from us – we just want to speak to anyone in the hotel. Is anyone there?"

She let the recorder play for several more seconds before shutting it off, rewinding and playing it back. There was nothing.

"…_Dean…"_

"Fuck!" Sam growled, swinging the camera around to aim towards room 109, where the PX was crackling to life. They ran down the corridor, towards the open room and inside. The PX had moved, closer to the door, louder when they entered than they had expected.

"Fuck," Dean whispered, letting go of Charlie and walking over to the machine.

"_Dean!"_

"I'm here!" Dean yelled, turning around to capture all of the room. "Who am I talking to? Who are you?"

"Dean, how does it know your name?" Jo's voice was shaky and scared.

"Who are you?" Dean challenged again, turning his camera back on the PX. "What's your name?"

Charlie stepped forward. "Are you the man we saw on our camera downstairs?"

The machine crackled. "_Yes_."

"Holy shit," Sam breathed, unable to contain his excitement. "What's your name?"

The machine crackled, but no words came out. It crackled again, this time the sound was tinny, but loud; "_Gay…Bree…Hell…" _The machine cut out abruptly, leaving them in silence.

"Gabriel," Dean murmured. "Gabriel -."

The group jumped, hearing a loud bang and a series of thumps, as though someone had fallen down the stairs. Immediately Dean ran out into the corridor, almost colliding with the opposite wall in his haste. Sam was quick to follow, used to his brother's sudden and sporadic bursts of energy, but Dean didn't get far before he collapsed, as though a heavy weight was pushing down on his shoulders.

"Dean? Dean!" Sam yelled, dropping the camera and trying to haul Dean upright, but it was no use – his brother was stuck on the ground.

Dean grunted, rolling his head to one side, and gritted his teeth as he tried to push himself up. "Sammy, use the camera – what the fuck is on me?"

"What's happening to him?" Benny growled, pointing his camera down the hall while Sam picked his back up and pointed it towards Dean, flicking through the different settings in the hope of picking something up.

"Who's there?" Jo asked into the recorder, looking around as Charlie checked the different frequencies in the hopes of picking something up. "Who is holding Dean down? What do you want?"

The PX screeched loudly – a high, piercing wail. _"Alpha!" _it hissed.

"Gabriel, let him go!" Sam commanded.

"…_No."_

Dean grunted. "That ghost we saw," he said, his throat tight and his words coming out strained – he felt like an entire house was settling itself on his back, "he won't be able to speak, Jo. He has no jaw, no way to communicate. He _had _to use the PX, right?"

Jo nodded, swallowing loudly.

"Dean…" Sam was staring in horror down at the screen of the camera in his hands. "Dean – oh, shit." He ran a hand through his hair, his fingers shaking. "It's the little girl, Dean. She's sitting on your back."

Dean swallowed. "Fuck," he whispered. "What's she doing?"

"She's just…sitting there." Benny turned the camera on Dean as well. "She's got her hands on your head, and she's grinning. She -." Suddenly Sam shot back, dropping the camera suddenly enough that the screen cracked in two. "Fuck, she looked right at me."

"Get the iron, Sammy -."

"We can't until she manifests," Benny argued, holding the camera still on the form of the bleeding, eyeless girl perched and grinning on Dean's back. "We can't touch her, Dean, and she knows that."

"Fuck," Dean hissed again. He tried to roll his shoulders, shivering when the freezing pressure started there as well. He was pinned underneath the ghost and knew it would only take a little bit for her to snap his neck or bash his skull into the floor. "Okay, Charlie, you managed to catch her voice before, try talking to her again. Jo, go back to the PX, see if we can get Gabriel back, Benny." He hissed, clenching his eyes shut as he felt a hand pet through his hair. It was freezing him to the core. "Record everything."

* * *

><p>Castiel woke up to Gabriel shaking him. He whined softly, trying to swallow against the thick, sticky wad of blanket around his throat. He felt a little better – shaky, but better, and breathed deeply as he tried to get his eyes to focus.<p>

"What?" he asked, tired and sore, and that was when he became aware of shouting and panicked voices coming from below. "Oh." He winced, pushing himself to his feet, glad for Gabriel's steady and strong hands to help keep him upright. His head throbbed and his hands were shaking from the blood loss, but he knew he could walk. "I'm okay, Gabe, I'm -."

The air got cold, and Castiel turned around in time to see the feral female turning the corner. He yelled, his voice weak and almost nonexistent in panic, and scrambled backwards as she turned her yellow grin and red eyes onto him. Fear churned his gut and froze him for a brief moment, before Gabriel shoved him back, towards the stairs.

The order was clear: _Go_.

He stumbled back, almost tripping over his feet as he headed for the stairs, towards the sound of the voices. He could recognize the lower growl of an Alpha as well as a female's higher-pitched voice;

"Hello? Little girl? What is it you want?"

He practically crawled down the stairs, unable to stay upright long enough to get his feet properly underneath himself. Behind him, he heard _her _screech in anger.

He turned around.

He shouldn't have turned around.

She had Gabriel pinned underneath her, her hand tight around his throat as he struggled and kicked at her. His golden eyes now glowed with Alpha red, but faintly – Castiel didn't know a ghost could die, but as he watched Gabriel's struggles get softer and weaker, he realized. His throat couldn't form the words; he couldn't yell for his brother, and Gabriel was _dying _and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

"No," he said, his voice hoarse and unable to put the volume behind it that he wanted.

It was enough. Her head snapped up, and her eyes narrowed.

Castiel shrank back, and his feet slipped, weak – he clutched at the bannister and went rolling, hard and rotten wood smacking into his shoulders and colliding with his knees and hips as he crashed loudly down the stairs, ending up in a pain-filled sprawl across the bottom few steps.

"You need to let go of Dean!"

Castiel lifted his head. The light was bad and his head was throbbing, but he thought he could just see the harsh lights on the other end of the corridor. They were swinging around, erratic, but flashed low just long enough to reveal the little girl crouched on top of one of them.

Above him, _she_ screamed in anger, and the air was getting cold. Castiel couldn't move.

He reached out towards the girl, knowing he would be unable to reach her – she probably wouldn't be able to hear him, but he had to try; he had to save that Alpha, those people didn't belong here.

"Anna." He coughed, his entire body shuddering. He could feel the heat of his blood against his neck, soaking the makeshift bandage.

Her head snapped up, her grinning mouth open.

Abruptly, the girl disappeared off of Dean's back. Dean seized, shuddering, and coughed violently, curling up on himself.

"Where did she go?" Sam demanded, looking down the corridor, but it was swallowed in darkness. "Benny, did you catch where she went?"

The Beta switched settings on the camera, aiming it down. "I see something!" he whispered, holding it out for everyone to see as Jo helped Dean to his feet. "You guys see that?" he asked, pointing to the thick block of orange laying across the floor of the corridor. Strange; spirits were usually freezing cold.

As they watched, a thick purple cloud formed around the orange one, almost blocking it out. The five watched with baited breath as it looked like the purple cloud knelt down next to the orange cloud, before Charlie let out a gasp.

"Someone's talking," she reported quietly, and Dean's eyes widened as he lifted his head. "There's…two voices. Hers, and a male. '_Anna, she's coming, go'._ He's…warning her?"

"Sammy," he said, "let's have some light."

Obediently Sam lifted the flashlight.

And then he almost dropped it.

"Oh my God!" Jo yelled, as Dean ran forward. Benny's camera light followed him, illuminating the collapsed, bleeding form of an Omega curled up on himself. He was covered in blood and bore multiple bite and scratch marks all over himself. His hair was dirty and unkempt, his lips chapped, skin sallow and clothes loose like they had used to fit him but he had wasted away inside of them. Black slacks and an untucked white shirt clung, threading, to his body, and what looked like a torn, dirty blanket was wrapped thickly around his neck. "Holy shit, Dean – is he?"

"I can smell him," Dean murmured, sounding confused, and leaned down and pushed his nose against the Omega's dirty cheek with no preamble. "Fuck, this guy's actually alive!"

The Omega whined, his scent heavy with distress and bitter with fear. Bright, blue-gold eyes flashed in the camera light's reflection, as he bared bloody teeth at the gathered five, glaring at them.

"You have…to leave," he choked out, tucking his knees in tight to his chest to prevent Dean from being able to pick him up. "You…you must leave." His eyelids fluttered closed, blood leaking out around his hands, and Dean snarled, upper lip curling back behind his teeth.

"Sam, give me the flashlight. We need to get him to a hospital," he ordered, standing and taking Sam's equipment from him so that the larger Alpha could cradle the Omega up into his arms.

"Dean," he murmured, "he's so light."

"Let's get the fuck outta here. We can get the cameras later – let's go!"

The Omega whined loudly, high-pitched, his eyes flaring open and dilated even in the harsh light of Benny's camera light. "No!" he said, his words barely more than a breath. "You have to _leave_. Leave me. _Go_. Run!"

Dean's face was set into a grim expression, his hand running almost absently through the Omega's bloody hair. "Sorry, sweetheart, but that's just not gonna happen."

The Omega groaned, struggling weakly. Then, his eyes widened, fixed somewhere in the darkness beyond the camera's light, up the stairs. He gestured wildly, shrinking back into Sam's chest, crying out weakly. "No! Run!"

Dean lifted the camera just in time to catch a big black cloud surrounding a huge pair of glowing red eyes. A woman's shriek could be heard from above them, followed by the screams of a little girl, before the building around them trembled. The five of them froze, fixed on the pair of eyes at the end of the hallway just in front of the stairs, before Charlie's trembling voice came through:

"No…no one takes the little whore from me. No one!"

A wailing mechanical scream pierced the tense silence, making Sam jump and Benny curse. It was the PX, and when Dean lifted the camera again the eyes were gone. He snarled, his own eyes threading with thin strings of red in response to an apparently Alpha threat, and hurried away from the stairs with the rest of the group following along behind.

"Come on, you coward!" he yelled, swinging the camera and flashlight around to try and catch any reappearance of the spirit. "What? You'll trap and torture but won't actually fight? Fucking _pig_."

"Dean -." Sam's warning was cut off as the building trembled again to the tinny song of the pulsing PX. The group fell silent, Charlie carefully taking her headphones off to hear the automated voice coming from the end of the hallway, from room 109.

"…_Dean_…" The computer voice was quiet, but it was clear, carrying easily through the tense and silent hallway. The Alpha snarled, lifting his chin in challenge. "_…Dean…_"

Dean threw his arms out to either side, stepping down the hallway. "I'm right here, you fucker -."

Abruptly the Omega seized up in Sam's arms, an anguished cry falling from his lips, and Sam's frantic yell caught Dean's attention. "Dean! He needs a fucking hospital, Goddamnit!"

Dean snarled, falling back, and nodded. "Alright. I'll watch your back, Sammy, let's get outta here."


	3. Chapter 3

Castiel woke up feeling warm.

It had been such a long time since he'd felt anything close to heat that for a moment he was convinced that he was dead.

He frowned, becoming aware of the sounds of rhythmic beeping, of a machine that sounded like it was breathing. He recognized these things, distantly, until he heard the sound of clacking high heels.

He surged awake, eyes snapping open as he let out a strangled cry, thrashing at the hands holding him down. Cold, freezing hands with claws and yellow fangs and red eyes – except, no, they weren't cold hands. They were gentle hands, firm hands, but gentle ones, keeping him down, a voice low and soothing in his ear – he blinked, made his eyes open.

Green. Green eyes. This Alpha's eyes were green.

Castiel felt himself swallow, his skin scratching against heavy bandages, and went limp. The Alpha slowly pulled away, licking his red, plush lips – his lips, actually there, not rotted away, but soft and full and -. Castiel reached forward, unable to find the words, his plea coming out as a soft and shapeless whine. The Alpha immediately leaned forward and allowed Castiel to touch him. It was well-known fact that an Alpha's touch and scent calmed an Omega down, especially one suffering severe trauma. Omegas and Alphas were meant to steady each other, balance and calm each other down.

Castiel breathed in deeply, let his fingers scrape over the Alpha's stubble-rough cheek. He bit his lip, curling his fingers around the Alpha's jaw, and pulled, hoping that the dumb instinct he was trying to satisfy would be understood.

The Alpha smiled – a sweet, gentle smile that crinkled the corners of his eyes and flashed his white, blunt teeth – and allowed Castiel to rub his forehead against his rough cheek. A soothing rumble fell from the Alpha's chest and Castiel sighed.

The Alpha cupped the back of his head, strong fingers threading through his damp, clean hair. "It's alright, sweetheart. I've gotcha."

Once he felt calm enough, he let go and looked at his surroundings. He was surrounded by white, and his skin didn't feel tight and tacky like it usually did – he felt _good_. Weak, but good. Amazing. His throat hurt and his shoulder stung very badly but there was _light _everywhere and he felt so _good_ he wanted to cry.

The Alpha chuckled, drawing Castiel's attention back to him. "They got you on some good drugs, I guess," he said with this one-shouldered, lazy shrug that put Castiel at ease, even if he didn't quite understand the words. "I'm Dean." Castiel nodded. "You got a name?"

The Omega nodded again, swallowing and wetting his dry mouth. "Castiel," he attempted to say, but his throat felt raw and all his breath left him after the first syllable.

Dean smiled. "Cas, huh? Well, Cas, it's great to meet you."

Castiel managed a smile.

Dean shifted in place, seeming awkward suddenly as he cleared his throat and looked away briefly. "Look, Cas…this is none of my business, really, but I gotta ask – and you can not answer, of course but…" The Alpha blew out a breath, rubbing his hand through his hair, before he turned his pretty green eyes back to the Omega. "What the fuck were you doing in that hotel?"

Castiel winced, turning his face away. He could feel the cold trickling along the back of his neck and squeezed his eyes tightly shut. If he didn't open his eyes, then she couldn't get him. He was invisible. He wasn't here.

"Hey, hey! Cas – hey, Cas, come on. Open your eyes. I'm here." A warm hand wrapped tightly around his, threading their fingers together, and the heat was so sudden and foreign that Castiel snapped his eyes open immediately, obediently. "It's okay. You don't need to answer." Dean breathed deeply, looking down. "But you…you were pretty messed up. Almost got your throat ripped out, and that's not even counting the other shit."

Castiel flinched again, drawing his legs up to his chest as best he could. He didn't want to think about that either.

He swallowed, and tried to get his throat to work, to form the words. "How…" He swallowed again, breathed deeply, the fingers of his free hand rubbing up and down his thigh while his other hand squeezed Dean's very tightly. "Did…We…"

Dean abruptly drew his hand away, ignoring Castiel's startled and panicked sound and quickly returned with a pen and paper. "You probably shouldn't talk too much, until you heal better. Here." He pushed the pen and paper into Castiel's hands, half-smiling in encouragement.

Castiel took the stationery gratefully, his lazy scrawl quickly filling the first few lines: _How did we get away?_

Dean smiled, shaking his head. "Well, uh, Sam 'nd I, we kind of…go around searching for paranormal activity and, if we find it, we kind of – stop it?" Castiel's brow furrowed and he cocked his head to one side. "Let's just say, the five of us, we're _really _good at our jobs."

The Alpha fell silent as Castiel began to hurriedly write more; _Is the building gone? Did you kill her?_

Dean frowned. "We salted and burned the building to the ground," he said with another shrug. "Anyone who was buried or died inside of the building went up in flames."

Castiel's eyes widened, and the pen and paper dropped from his hands. He let out a soft, distressed sound, his hand curling into a tight fist as he curled his legs up as tightly as he could until his knees were pushed against his injured neck.

"Cas? What's wrong, sweetheart?" Dean murmured, his voice purposely low and soothing as he reached forward to brush his hand over the Omega's shoulder. "It's okay, Cas, they're not gonna hurt you anymore -."

"Gabriel," Castiel whispered, shaking his head and turning his face away. He knew, of course, that his brother was dead – that there was nothing that could be done for him. But to deny him a proper burial, after everything he had done for Castiel, seemed cruel. Thankless. He blinked, feeling his throat get tight and painful.

Dean frowned. "Gabriel, huh? You knew him?"

Castiel's head snapped up, eyes wide, and he hurriedly picked up the pen and notepad. _He helped me survive. You saw him?_

Dean took the paper from him, reading carefully, and huffed a small, short laugh. "Yeah, I guess you could say that. He, ah, I guess he helped us find you? In a way." He winced, then, remembering the grotesque apparition that had led them upstairs. What an awful way to die. "I'm, ah, sorry for your loss," he hazarded.

Castiel nodded, pressing his lips together. He hadn't realized how much of a comfort Gabriel's ghost, even mangled and horrifying as he had been, had been for him, until now when he was confronted with the knowledge that he actually would never see him again.

Dean's voice caught his attention again; "You got any family, Cas? Or maybe Gabriel's family we could contact? I told them I was your mate just so they'd let me sit here with you, since Gabriel wasn't here, but -."

Castiel frowned. _Gabriel is was my brother. I don't have a mate._

"Oh." Then, a pretty flush stained Dean's cheeks, light red and bringing out his freckles. Castiel hadn't realized how much he had missed something as silly and pretty as a blush. "I'm sorry. I assumed."

_I am perfectly comfortable with you being my temporary guardian, Dean. You saved me, after all._

Dean grinned. "Well, if that girl ghost hadn't gone over to you, I think she woulda killed me. So, you know, you kinda saved my life. I owe you for that."

Castiel managed another smile, before a thought occurred to him, and he picked up the pen and paper again; _Why were _you _in that place_?

Dean gave that lazy half-shrug again. "Well, like I said, my friends and I, we hunt down this kind of shit. Honestly we weren't expecting much since there hadn't been any recent incidents, but then – well, we've gotten rid of anything that was in there. One big ol' salt and burn."

Castiel hurriedly picked up the pen and paper again. _Did you know about him? The feral Alpha?_

Dean's eyes darkened, reading his question, and Castiel was momentarily startled at the violent snarl Dean let out, his upper lip curling back. The same cold sensation trickled down his neck when he saw a brief flash of red in Dean's eyes, before it was gone.

"Yeah, we knew about him," the Alpha said, too-calmly. "I hope the son of a bitch is still burnin', wherever he is."

Castiel whined softly, holding his hand out for the notepad back. His fingers were shaking, his heart giving an uneven, hard thump inside of his chest. He knew Dean was not a feral Alpha, but the flash of red had affected him, and he couldn't shake the image of Dean's face, lips melted away and nothing left of him human, snarling and crouched in a dark corner, gnawing on the bones of Omegas.

He shook the thought away, and thought about the pretty green he'd seen before – the same green he was seeing now. _He's not buried in the hotel, Dean. I don't…I don't know how he died, but he comes back. He always comes back, for all of them. He's… _His breathing was coming quicker and quicker, the beeps measuring his heartbeat getting closer and closer together until he felt like they were indistinguishable from each other. His vision was blacking out again like when _she_ would close her hand around his throat and squeeze and _squeeze _until he couldn't breathe, couldn't see – he needed to close his eyes, needed to disappear.

"Cas, Cas!"

Castiel could not remember the scent of an Alpha from before his life in that hotel, but he imagined that they wouldn't smell like Dean – Dean's calming, earthy scent was different, pure, perfect. His voice cut through Castiel's hysteria, and he held the Omega's shaking hands until his breathing calmed and his eyes stopped watering.

"Cas, please," Dean murmured, pressing his face into Castiel's palms, letting the Omega pet and touch him as much as he pleased. "I need you to tell me everything you know – about that hotel, about Alistair Sutton – anything you can, sweetheart. Please."

Castiel frowned. _Why do you call me that? _he wrote with barely-shaking hands.

The Alpha coughed, blushing a little and looking down with a small smile. "Sorry. I can stop if it bothers you."

_It doesn't_, Castiel wrote, honestly, and pleased for the pleasantly pink blush spreading across Dean's cheeks and nose. He was a handsome Alpha – Castiel was sure his mate was very lucky. He had, unfortunately, become very used to the stench of Omega, and although he could not scent any other on Dean, he would be foolish to think that the man was unmated. Omegas balanced Alphas out; it was fact.

He took another deep breath, drumming the tip of his pen against the notepad for another long moment before he began to write. He had to stop multiple times, breathing deeply and closing his eyes and allowing Dean to gently pet through his hair to calm him down and to reassure himself that he was safe and he wasn't in the hotel anymore.

Finally, what felt like days later, he was shaking and he could feel the first prickling of clammy sweat under his arms and across the back of his neck, but his story was finished and he handed Dean the notepad, covered in three pages of his large, messy handwriting;

_My brother and I had gone with in for a dare; we got lost. No one ever found us – I screamed and yelled all I could but no one ever heard me. And they. They killed him. He was Alpha, they don't like Betas and Alphas in the hotel._

_There was Her, and then there was Him. I never saw him, but they were all scared of him. In the basement. They helped me. They helped me survive and find water and she couldn't kill me because Gabriel was always there to protect me and to help me hide._

_I was so scared. They killed Gabriel and she was going to kill me because I didn't make you leave and I tried but you wouldn't __leave__. I asked Anna to help me because no one would listen to me but you – you're all __stubborn__. And then Gabriel tried to help me but she killed him again. And I knew he would come if you stayed and I tried so hard to get you to leave. She's never let me leave._

"He'll…come for me," Castiel murmured after Dean set the pages down, his jaw clenched, determined. "He'll kill us."

The corner of Dean's mouth quirked up, briefly, showing some of his teeth. "Not if I have anything to say about it."

* * *

><p>Dean stayed by Castiel's side for several days while he recovered, until he could speak properly again – lower, more throaty than he used to, but without any pain or causing damage – and as per Castiel's request, he allowed Sam, Benny, Charlie and Jo to come with the final cut of footage from the hotel.<p>

Dean introduced them, one by one, and Castiel was glad when they proved to be just as welcoming and tactile as Dean. He was starved for human warmth and it wasn't long before Charlie had all but taken him under her wing, constantly petting his hair or holding his hand. They all smelled so _different_, so much more than just death and urine and mold. The first time he pulled Benny in by the shoulder and breathed in the brine and leather scents clinging to his coat, the Beta had chuckled heartily and taken his jacket off for Castiel to smell and touch as much as he pleased.

They all gave him things, welcoming him to their pack easily – so easily. Castiel didn't recall much of his life before the horror and fear of the hotel, but he knew he had a family that was cold and distant, and not so much friends as associates. He was not surprised when no one showed up to claim him – Gabriel, he remembered, was the only one of his family who actually gave a damn about the 'Omega bitch'.

When he told them this, he saw Dean's eyes flicker red again. It awed him; the strange, wild strength of Dean and his friends. They were all Alphas and Betas, yet he did not fear them, not really.

They brought Castiel the footage from their tapes – both the static ones and the PX and the recordings they'd gathered. Without Castiel there, the ghosts were not as strong. Only the Omegas briefly appeared in the basement, reaching for them with shy hands and pleading eyes, but they had managed to salt and burn the hotel relatively unmolested.

Castiel watched it with them, reaching out to touch the screen when Gabriel appeared within the lobby. "I didn't see him die," he explained, softly. "We were asleep in one of the rooms – the only room that still had a bed – and when I woke up he was gone. I didn't see them take him. Then I was hungry, and he appeared to me."

He shook his head, pulling his hand back. "I was very afraid when I first saw him. I didn't leave the room for days until she found me and forced me out again. Gabriel helped me find food, and the Omegas helped me. And Anna protected me sometimes. She was…difficult to predict." He smiled faintly. He had grown fond of the little girl despite her gruesome wounds and her frightening games, but she was the closest thing he had to a friend.

"We got her on tape," Jo supplied, pulling up the audio files and playing it. Soon Anna's high-pitched nursery rhyme was playing out through the computer's speakers. Charlie visibly shivered, hearing it again.

"Creepy as fuck," she stage-whispered.

"She's talking about him," Castiel said suddenly. "The feral male. He." The Omega took a deep breath, his fingers clenching tight enough to white out his knuckles. "I don't know where he died. He would come and go, they said. I've never seen him there."

Dean nodded, pausing the playback. "There's still a set of bones out there that need burnin'. We'll need to figure out what happened to Sutton and end this once and for all."

Castiel's hand shot out, wrapping around Dean's forearm tightly. "Don't leave me," he demanded, his voice far too strong for how scared he was. "He'll come for me – he'll kill me, and drag me back there. I'm not going back there."

"No one's making you," Charlie said gently, his fingers wrapping around Castiel's. "No one's making him, right, Dean?"

Even if Charlie wasn't an Alpha, Dean would have relented under her meaningful look. He shook his head quickly, his hand flattening over where Castiel's grip was leaving marks on his arm. "We won't go back there if we can help it," he replied, trying to make his voice as soothing as possible. Even weak as he was, the Omega had a tight grip, and his nails were sharp from constantly being bitten down, jagged-edged. "We can – we can go back to the Batcave, regroup. You can stay with us there."

Castiel frowned. "The…Batcave?" he hazarded. He didn't want to go to a cave, least of all one full of bats. He'd had quite enough of cold, dark and dreary places for one lifetime.

"It's our house," Sam explained. "Dean and I own this big property just outside of Lawrence and we all tend to stay there for a week after hunts, just to make sure we caught everything and to make sure we're all okay after the hunt."

"Mister Winchester?"

Sam and Dean straightened, turning towards the Beta standing in the doorway. His eyes were on Dean. "May I speak to you alone for a moment?"

Castiel frowned down at his lap as the rest of the pack stared at Dean's back as he followed the doctor outside. He knew, of course, that Omegas had very little voice when it came to their own health and wellbeing, and that by posing as his mate Dean had given himself control over Castiel's current situation, but that didn't mean he had any right to hear what was about to be said outside of Castiel's presence.

He huffed a frustrated breath. "God forbid the actual patient discusses their condition with their doctor," he said, a little louder than what was strictly polite, earning a scattering of laughter from the group.

Benny clapped a hand on Castiel's shoulder, grinning wide. "I think you'll fit in just fine with the likes of us," he said. Charlie hummed in agreement, her fingers tracing gentle patterns along the back of Castiel's hand.

* * *

><p>Dean followed the doctor around the corner, into a smaller waiting room area that was currently unoccupied. "So, what's the news, Doc?" Dean asked, unable to keep the worry out of his voice; he'd only known Castiel for a few days, but the Omega had managed to pull at every one of Dean's protective instincts within minutes. Plus, the guy had kind of saved his life, and he had a strange mix of cynical humor and wide-eyed wonder that was – well, screw him – kind of adorable. He was the kind of person people gravitated towards, Dean included.<p>

The Beta had a kind smile, and crinkles around his eyes as he looked down at Castiel's chart, a sympathetic look on his face. "Mister Winchester, has your mate gone into any detail of his time within the hotel?" he asked, too kindly.

"His name is Cas," Dean replied, his voice coming out harder than he'd expected. "And no, not a lot. Why?"

The Beta huffed a sigh, one big hand raking through his dirty blonde hair. "Well." He sighed again, tapping his nails absently against his medical chart, his eyes fixed on some point on the wall between them. Where they were, he was looking at the point where Castiel's bed was, on the other side. "Your mate – _Cas_ – has gone through a lot of trauma. He seems to be doing well enough that we think we can discharge him, but I feel it's important to inform you of some of the possible psychological and hormonal issues you might start experiencing with him in the next few months."

Dean frowned; the whole spiel sounded very condescending towards Castiel. He wasn't a fucking child. "What kind of _issues_?" he asked, forcing his voice to remain calm although he couldn't help hissing the last word like some kind of curse.

The Beta didn't seem to notice; "He may feel some anxiety, panic attacks if left alone too long. He seems to react very negatively to the sound of high heels or boots, though we haven't been able to figure out why." He hesitated again, his eyes finally rising to meet Dean's, dark and worried. "You…you said you found him alone in that hotel, correct? Are you _sure _there was no one else with him?"

"I'm sure," Dean said. "That's what he told me, too."

"It's just that – well, we're unsure how his injuries could have occurred, then, Mister Winchester. He has at least two bites on his neck, and one of them was very, very fresh." The Beta shook his head. "Perhaps there was some kind of animal, but looking at his current hormone levels, we may have to address the possibility of other options."

"Just spit it out, Doc," Dean snapped impatiently. "Stop talkin' in circles!"

"Mister Winchester." The Beta held out his hand, patting the air in a 'calm down' motion. "My current hypothesis is that there was an Alpha in that hotel, keeping your mate prisoner. Obviously I don't know your mate as well as you do, but given his current clinginess and the balance of his hormones, I would bet money that that bite on his neck was from an Alpha."

Dean knew this. Objectively, he knew that Castiel had been horribly injured, and that it was most likely Sutton or the feral female that had done it to him – but hearing it, Dean couldn't stifle his low, angry snarl. He turned away from the doctor and folded his arms tightly across his chest so that he didn't lash out at the man.

"If he was bitten," Dean murmured tensely, "then that means he'll go into Heat, right?" He didn't wait for the doctor to nod; "Can you give him any suppressants or meds that'll help him? He doesn't…he doesn't need that shit on top of everything else."

There was a long silence, in which Dean finally forced his eyes back to the other man. The Beta was frowning, worrying his lip between his teeth as he gave Dean a quick once-over. "Somethin' on your mind?" the Alpha challenged, straightening up and unfolding his arms so that he towered over the other man.

"I'm…we can discuss some options," the Beta stammered, looking back down at his chart. "I can have the nurse give you some pamphlets and websites to go to, just in case. We should be able to discharge your mate -."

"_Cas_."

"…We should be able to discharge Cas by the end of today, early tomorrow at the latest." With that the Beta hurried away, and Dean shook his head, sagging back against the wall and rubbing the heel of his hand against his eyes. He didn't know why, but it fucking irked him whenever this kind of shit came up – his mom was a fucking Omega, and she was a _person_. They were _people_. The fact that people thought they weren't worthy of their own independent thought or that they belonged in fucking _harems_ made Dean sick to his stomach.

With a low growl, he shoved himself upright and stalked back to the hospital room. Sam and Charlie were inside, the two Alphas flanking Castiel as the three of them had their attention on the little television in the corner of Castiel's room. Dean heard a crowd yelling _'Move that bus!' _before Charlie noticed him and turned the volume down.

"Where's Jo and Benny?" Dean asked before she could say anything.

"They went to the cafeteria," Sam replied.

Dean nodded, dragging a chair up to sit next to Castiel, and swung his feet up onto the end of the Omega's bed. "They're gonna let you go tonight or tomorrow morning," he said, nudging the man's blanketed foot with the toe of his boot, and grinned. "Once we sign off on the discharge papers."

A small smile ghosted over Castiel's face as he tore his eyes away from the teary family on television looking over their brand new house. His smile widened when he met Dean's eyes. "That's good news," he said with a small nod. "Did the doctor have anything else to say?"

Dean hesitated, his eyes darting to Sam, then Charlie. "Yeah," he finally replied with an awkward cough, sitting up and pulling his feet off of the bed. "He, ah, said you might feel some anxiety, panic attacks, the like, but I hope if you're with the gang for a while, you might -." He swallowed, unable to really put into words what he thought he might be able to offer the Omega. A roof over his head? Sure. A family, a herd? Well, fuck, only if he wanted it.

Castiel seemed to understand. "The five of you make me feel remarkably safe," he said, smiling at Charlie when she squeezed his hand. "And it's reassuring to know you have knowledge and defense against the supernatural. I would like to stay with you until I get back on my feet."

"Stay as long as you'd like, Cas," Sam said. "We have the room."

"Thank you." Then, Castiel's gaze was back on Dean, spearing him in place. "Was there anything else?"

He said it like he knew. Unbidden, Dean's gaze drifted from Castiel's eyes to the thick piece of white gauze still taped to his neck. The bite was deep, done solely with the intention of killing, not marking, and it would probably take a long time to heal and leave a thick scar even after it was healed.

He frowned. Hadn't the doctor said there'd been _two _bites?

"You were bitten by an Alpha," Dean replied after what felt like a very long silence; long enough that the show on television had ended and the next one had begun. He lifted his gaze again, swallowing at the darkness in Castiel's eyes and the grim, determined clench of his jaw. "The Doc thinks that means you'll go into Heat."

Castiel nodded, looking down at his lap again. "And he assumes that, because you are listed as my mate, this won't be a problem." The Omega sighed, closing his eyes and tilting his head back against the fluffy pillows propping him up. The action exposed the line of his throat. Dean tried not to stare, tried not to think about it. "Will he give me suppressants?"

"I asked," Dean said quickly; he wanted Castiel to know that he wasn't just some pervy freak Alpha who'd jump at the chance of getting an Omega pinned into his herd to take against his will. The whole situation was fucked, sure, and Dean might have a little more instinct than most, but he wasn't sick.

"So, no," the Omega replied with a tired sigh. Castiel tilted his head into the gentle touch Charlie laid to his cheek, smiling slightly and opening his eyes once more. "I suppose we'll deal with it when it comes," he said, sitting back up with a wince. "My Heats have always been relatively minor. It shouldn't be a problem."

Sam nodded. "We have a spare room. We can pack a cooler and leave you to it."

"You didn't have any Heats in the hotel?" Charlie asked, her brow furrowing when Castiel visibly shut down, his shoulders rolling up to dislodge her light touch, his jaw bulging at the corners when he ground his teeth together.

He visibly flinched when she reached for him again, his nostrils flaring as he exhaled harshly, staring down at his lap. "I'd rather not talk about it," he said tersely, the gold at the center of his eyes momentarily flaring outwards to cover the entire iris before he blinked, and they were back to normal.

Dean and Sam shared a look, but said nothing. The tense moment went on, until Dean sighed and looked back up at the television, grinning when he recognized a scene from _Kitchen Nightmares. _"Charlie, turn it back up," he said, kicking his feet back up on the bed, the picture of nonchalance until Castiel seemed to visibly relax, realizing the attention was no longer on him. The female Alpha obeyed and soon the room was full of the sounds of Gordon Ramsay and a British woman arguing over the proper preparation of oysters.

Jo and Benny returned laden with treats, and Dean crowed in delight when Benny dropped a snack pack of Oreos down onto his lap. "See? This is why I love you, man," he said, tearing into the cookies.

"Anything for you, sugar," Benny replied with a wink, throwing Sam a bag of pretzels and Charlie a bag of gummy worms. "You hungry?" he asked Castiel. Castiel almost didn't hear him; his eyes were caught on the pretty pink flush on Dean's cheeks, the way the dark Oreo crumbs clung to his lips.

He coughed, flushing when he realized Benny was holding out an apple and another bag of pretzels for him, a grin on his face. "Thank you," he said sincerely, taking the food. The apple was large and a very dark red, and it smelled _fresh_, and tasted so crisp under his tongue. "My _God_," he moaned, biting into it. "I'd forgotten what actual _fruit _tasted like."

He gave another satisfied sound, relishing the crunch of the apple between his teeth, the way the cold and sticky juice felt against his fingers. He licked at the saddle of his thumb, chasing the taste, and opened his eyes when Dean abruptly began to cough, his cheeks red as the apple as he slammed his fist against his own chest and bent double on himself in the seat.

"You alright there, Winchester?" Jo asked with a sly grin, this twinkle in her eye that, to Castiel, seemed out of place due to the fact that Dean sounded like he was in legitimate distress.

Castiel sat up, frowning as he reached out for Dean and caught him on the shoulder. "Dean, are you alright?" he asked, smoothing his juice-sticky fingers along the collar of Dean's shirt while the Alpha breathed and righted himself.

"I'm – I'm fine, Cas," Dean said after he'd managed to swallow whatever had managed to choke him, sitting upright. A fine border of cookie crumbs still clung to his lip and Castiel licked his own sympathetically, his gaze darting over Dean's face in remnants of concern. "Just, ah, just went down the wrong pipe, is all."

The group around them seemed to barely contain their laughter. Sam's smile was clearly visible around his hand and Jo was quietly laughing into her bag of potato chips. Whatever the joke was, it was totally lost on Castiel.

"Don't you worry," Benny said with a wink once Dean seemed to be once again in full control of his breathing. "We'll make sure there's _plenty _of fruit and fresh food in the house when you come to stay."

Dean kicked Benny, hard enough that the Beta cursed and rubbed at his shin. Castiel didn't understand why.

* * *

><p>Castiel ended up being discharged from the hospital a little after four in the morning. He had nothing to carry with him, but Jo and Sam had gone back out to buy him some null-smelling clothes in the hopes that the fresh, inoffensive scent wouldn't do anything to aggravate his condition. For an Omega that had been trapped with at least one feral Alpha, he seemed remarkably comfortable being in the house with not only one Alpha, but three fully grown ones, not to mention two sizeable Betas.<p>

"It reminds me of home," Castiel had said. "All of my brothers were Alphas. I'm not afraid of any of you."

And that had been that. Benny had driven his van home, and Charlie had gone with Jo in their own car, which left Castiel in the backseat of Sam and Dean's giant, old black beast of a machine. She shone in the sunrise sky, her black finish swallowing up what little light was coloring the sky and gleaming in what looked like recent rain.

"She's beautiful," Castiel had breathed, unable to say much else as he let a hand drag across her shiny hood. Cold, he was used to, but the machine seemed to almost thrum with power and vibrancy. When Sam twisted the key, she came to life with a mighty roar. Castiel imagined that she, along with the two skilled brothers within her, would make very fearsome opponents when it came to fighting ghosts and spirits.

Sam drove them back, since Dean had stayed up all night with Castiel and most of the time with him for the previous four days he'd been in the hospital. Once Castiel was comfortably settled in the car, Dean seemed to completely pass out, having finally decided, Castiel supposed, that his pack was safe enough to leave his brother in charge.

Castiel couldn't sleep. He wasn't sure what it was – maybe the desperation to gaze up into the sky after so long trapped in that waking nightmare, or maybe it was because the car's engine was so loud that he physically couldn't sleep, he could not say – but he found himself staying awake with Sam.

Sam drove without the radio on, and while Castiel appreciated the lack of loud music, he didn't appreciate the lack of conversation. He had spent far too long without anyone to talk to.

"How did you all get into this line of work?" he asked, suddenly, making Sam flinch and curse softly under his breath.

"Fuck," the Alpha growled. "I thought you were asleep. I can turn the radio on, if you want."

"No." Castiel sat forward, folding an arm across the back of the bench seat. This way, he could gaze out into the road, where the lights of Lawrence lit up the skyline for what seemed like eternity. "I appreciate the quiet, but the silence is -." He winced, realizing that what he was saying made no sense.

Sam nodded. "I get it," he said after a moment, fingers flexing along the wheel. "It's weird, how quiet places like that are. Like there's a void."

Castiel pressed his lips together, and kept his eyes on the road. Every time he thought of that place it brought a thick wave of nausea with it, and he couldn't stop catching flashes of red eyes in the darkness.

After a moment the Alpha hummed, shifting in place again where he sat. "Dean and I have always been doing this," he said eventually, tilting his head to look at Castiel in the rearview mirror. "Since we were kids, my dad was really into this kind of thing, and he'd hunt down monsters and ghosts and all sorts of shit. When he died, Dean and I kind of took over. We met Jo and Benny and Charlie and they helped us do it the smart way, you know, instead of just going in guns blazin'. Now we can not only stop the hauntings, but document them in case we come across something strange that others should know about."

"Others?"

"Other hunters. There's lots of us, and a lot of people in Hollywood have started buying out the filming and stuff, so now people think the shit we do is fake. Other hunters are basically the only other sources we can really trust nowadays."

"Are there a lot of monsters in the world, Sam?" Castiel asked.

Sam shrugged one shoulder, throwing a reassuring smile into the rearview mirror for Castiel's benefit. "Nothing we can't handle."

Castiel hummed, sensing an end to the conversation when Sam leaned across and turned the radio to a rock station. He played the music quietly, but it was enough to deter any further conversation – not that Castiel wanted any. His skin felt prickly and cold, and when he sat back and leaned against the window he couldn't shake the feeling that there was someone sitting next to him.

He ended up curled against the door of the Impala, shoes and socks kicked off so that he could curl his feet underneath him and face the interior of the car. That way he could tuck his toes underneath the end of the oversized jacket he'd been bought and didn't have to worry about anything grabbing him from below.

It seemed so silly to him, these fears; rationally, he knew he was removed from the immediate danger now, and he was surrounded by strong and skilled Alphas and Betas that would be able to protect him, but he disliked the idea of being so heavily dependent. He hated the fact that he still felt uneasy and nervous – not for his situation, but he couldn't shake the feeling off that told him he was not as safe and secure as he would like to think.

Eventually Lawrence melted from around them and they continued to drive on, the dark night speared only by the gleaming lights of their car and Benny's van behind them, Jo and Charlie following along after. They drove until they hit a small gas station with a bright red roof. A giant sign loomed above, sporting the prices for gasoline and diesel, and Sam drove under the roof of the gas pumps, killing the engine.

Dean woke as soon as the car stopped moving. "Gas?" he huffed, waiting for Sam's nod before he took their credit card and slid out of the car to go to the pump.

"Hey." Sam's gentle touch to his shoulder roused Castiel from his doze. "If you need the bathroom or food or anything, now's a good time to go. We got about another hour before we're gonna be home."

"Alright." Castiel slid his feet back into his socks and shoes, wincing at the cold temperature, before stepping outside. The air was cold but thick, a summer storm likely hiding just out of sight, but he breathed it in deeply, the gasoline stench and the scent of donuts and burgers and microwavable burritos.

Dean was leaning next to the gas pump, waiting out the machine to fill up the car. "May I have some money?" Castiel asked after a moment of the two of them just standing in companionable silence.

The Alpha straightened immediately, grinning. "Right, sure. Sorry," he said, digging out his wallet and handing Castiel a well-worn twenty. "Get anything you want, Cas."

"Thank you. Would you like anything?"

"I'm good for now." Castiel nodded, pocketing the money and shoving his hands into the soft lining on the inside of his jacket, and ducked his head as he made his way inside. Benny and Jo and Charlie had parked along the end of the building, and they gave a little wave as he passed into the building, content to wait outside while Sam and Dean gassed up before they were on their way.

The bright lights inside stung at Castiel's eyes, and he winced and ducked his head when he stepped inside. There were rows and rows of candy, chips and drinks on display in such garish colors that it was almost too much to process. Searching for refuge, he found a sign hanging overhead for the bathrooms and hurried over towards it, disappearing quickly inside.

It was a single room, barely big enough to fit the toilet and a sink inside, and Castiel breathed out heavily, closing his eyes and resting his head back against the door. The air was cooler in here, the air conditioning chugging dutifully away to create a low, soothing humming sound. When he opened his eyes, he saw that the entire floor was made of white tiles which, while still painful to look at, was at least uniform and something he could get used to quickly.

There was a mirror above the bathroom sink. He hadn't seen himself in a non-cracked reflection in so long. He looked…good. Decent. The nurses at the hospital had cleaned his hair, and while he hadn't had a chance to shave, the scruff of his cheeks and neck didn't look horrible and greasy anymore. Even with the ugly white bandage on his neck, he looked pretty damn good, well fed, and there was finally color back on his face.

He smiled at himself, and his reflection smiled back.

He didn't need to go to the bathroom, but he was loath to leave so quickly and back into that over-stimulating, garish display outside, so he gently twisted the sink faucet to the left until cold water came trickling out, which he gathered in his hands to splash gently on his face.

He closed his eyes, sighing at the feeling of the cool water, and gathered up another handful to splash across the back of his neck.

The air conditioning stuttered to a halt, and the lights flickered.

Castiel opened his eyes, sucking in a freezing breath through his teeth. _Fuck_, it was suddenly freezing cold. His face felt like ice and his neck – the back of his neck…

He snapped upright, looking over his shoulder. There was no one there – of course there wasn't, he was alone in the bathroom, the door was locked. He took a deep breath, fingers flexing and straightening in rhythm as he tried to calm himself down.

Castiel was not foolish enough to shrug off something like that – _someone _had been behind him. Something cold had touched the back of his neck. For the last however long, Castiel had only known one person – one _thing_ – who had done that.

But the lights were back on and the air conditioning seemed to have clinked back to life, filling the bathroom with a soft hum again.

Castiel sighed, swallowing hard, and turned back around.

He shut off the tap, head bowed, before straightening again.

Red eyes blinked back at him.

_Hello, little whore_.

Castiel's eyes widened and he shrank back, his shoulder colliding with the opposite wall hard enough that he heard something crack, and let out a hoarse shout of pain. Above him, the lights dimmed and flickered out again, so that he could see nothing but the glowing, red, unblinking eyes.

"Get away from me!" he snarled.

Low, rough laughter curled around the small space. The darkness was so absolute that Castiel could no longer see his hands. Blindly, he reached for the lock on the door, his fingers scrambling desperately as he felt long fingers carding through his hair. They felt wet and cold.

The lock wasn't budging; it had been frozen shut and, with a frustrated and terrified huff, he slammed his fist against the door. Again, again. "Don't touch me!" he yelled, turning around and hitting at the feeling of something touching him, _caressing _him. The smoke was thick in his mouth. "Let me go!"

"Cas? Cas!" Dean. He could hear _Dean_'s voice on the other side of the door; feel the dull thuds that were the Alpha slamming his fist against it, trying to break through. "Cas, are you in there? What's going on?"

"Dean…" Castiel suddenly couldn't speak; the black smoke was inside his mouth, clogging his throat. He turned back around, desperately yanking on the lock, when it finally broke free and he stumbled outside.

He'd expected to fall straight into Dean, but when he got out it was like he had stepped back inside of the hotel. He even recognized the hallway leading away from Anna's bathroom. He could see the staircase, the fractured pieces of mirror, the dirty streaks of mud and grime across the floor.

And, at the end of the hallway, _he _was standing.

"No," Castiel breathed, shaking his head. "No." He fell back again, his sore shoulders meeting a cold, strong surface. When he turned around, he was facing a giant, floor-length mirror. Within it he could see his own body, staring up at a towering, demonic figure. It was _him_, the feral Alpha, with his glowing red eyes. He stood behind Castiel, those red eyes piercing the Omega as one hand wrapped around his chest, the other around his waist, and pulled.

"No!" Castiel screamed, kicking with all his might and fighting to get free.

_What's the matter? Don't you miss the fullness I brought you?_

"Don't touch me!" Castiel kicked out, shattering the mirror under the force until glass rained down on him, cutting his hands when he tried to claw away from the demon holding him. He reached back, raking a hand across the demon's face, attempting to claw out his eyes. It hissed, turning him around so that Castiel could see him. "Get away from me!"

"Cas!" Dean. That's was Dean's voice – where was Dean? Castiel bared his teeth, spitting at the thing in front of him as it tried to hold his head, tried to force him to be still. "Cas – Cas calm down! Please, please calm down; I'm right here."

Abruptly the Alpha pulled Castiel close and Castiel found himself with his nose buried in the thick smoke that made up the demon's body. Only it wasn't smoke; he reached to touch, to tear, and warm flesh met his hands. When he breathed in, the scent was earthy and clean.

The demon could fool his eyes, but there was no way for it to mimic that now-familiar scent.

"Dean," the Omega whispered, opening his eyes and seeing the deep brown of Dean's jacket. He could feel the soft leather under his hands, and he could smell the rich, calming Alpha scent bleeding from Dean, thick and strong because Dean was trying to actively calm Castiel down. Dean wrapped his arms tightly around Castiel, letting the Omega press close to him, and abruptly the darkness and the chill melted away. "Oh, _Dean_."

Castiel sagged into him, relying on Dean mostly to hold him up. The Alpha's strong, warm fingers slid through his hair, a soothing purr rumbling in Dean's throat.

"I've gotcha, sweetheart. It's okay."

"Dean." Castiel abruptly pulled away, wiping at his face when he heard Sam's voice. "You hear that?"

There was a faint whining sound coming out of Dean's pocket and, frowning, the Alpha pulled out what looked like an old, disfigured Walkman. There was a set of lights along the top and they were all lit up. "Fuck," Dean growled, waving it at the air around Castiel. "Fuck. Okay. Let's get the hell outta here."

Castiel took a step, and hissed. Glass was crunched underneath him, and when he looked down he saw that several shards of glass had embedded themselves in the soles of his shoes and along his jeans where his knees had hit. There were dark pinpricks of blood already starting to show through.

"Can you walk?" Dean asked, no longer speaking in the low, soothing tone he'd taken, but giving an order. Castiel nodded, allowing Dean to sling an arm over his shoulder and walk out. They left a number with the shocked-looking young Beta on duty, with a terse promise to pay for any damages as the three of them filed out.

"Dean!" Jo called from where she had been awkwardly keeping guard next to the Impala. Her eyes widened when she took in Castiel's state. "What the Hell happened?"

"We need to leave," Dean replied tersely. "Sammy, can you keep driving?"

"Yeah," Sam replied with a nod.

"Good. Okay. C'mon, sweetheart." Dean walked Castiel back over to the Impala, shooing Jo away and waving off Benny's and Charlie's worried looks. "We're gonna go back to the house as quick as we can," he told them, before sliding into the backseat next to Castiel.

Castiel carefully toed off his shoes and socks again, curling up on himself on two thirds of the seat while Dean sprawled across the edge. Dean kept a good hold of him, letting the Omega curl up against him as much as he wanted as though they'd been doing it all their lives. Immersed in the scents on the Impala and with Dean's scent fresh in his nose, Castiel felt a lot calmer and only relaxed more the further away they went from the gas station.

"It was him," he finally said after twenty minutes of tense silence. "The feral Alpha. He was there."

Dean's hand tightened in Castiel's hair. Castiel was laying with his head on Dean's thigh, his eyes closed as the Alpha gently pet through his hair. Soon enough Dean's fist relaxed and he resumed the soft, rhythmic petting, but Castiel could feel the tension lingering within the Alpha.

"We'll find him," Dean vowed, his voice little more than a growl. "We'll burn that feral son of a bitch to the ground, sweetheart, I promise you."

Castiel smiled. "I believe you."


	4. Chapter 4

Castiel wasn't sure what he had expected 'The Batcave' to be like, but he was sure he hadn't been thinking of this. It was so…normal. The house was painted a soft cream color. The roof was black. There were windows everywhere and a six-port garage and a gravel pathway leading to the main road. There was a balcony around the second floor and a porch lining the bottom of the house, and a dark brown fence sectioning off the back garden from the rest of the overgrown plants and trees lining the walkway. It was quiet, an overgrown and unkempt utopia that Castiel found very pleasing to look at; this quiet little house in the middle of nowhere.

"Can I help with anything?" he asked once they'd all pulled up within the garage and begun to unload the multitude of heavy-looking equipment and laden black duffle bags.

Dean shook his head, but Charlie waved him over with a big smile. "Can you take this laptop and the cords for me?" she asked, pushing a heavy, wide laptop into his arms and handing the bag to him as well. It was heavy but not unbearable, and he gave her a slight nod, slinging it over his shoulder and following Benny inside.

"What?" Charlie challenged when Dean shot her a glare. "You can't just baby him, Dean. He offered!"

Dean subsided with a soft grumble, and if he happened to load himself up with far more equipment than what he would usually carry so that the whole thing took fewer trips and Castiel didn't have to carry as much, no one called him out on it.

When it was all done, Dean led Castiel on a tour of the house. "My room's up here, and the guest bedroom is on the other side of that bathroom, so I'll be able to come quickly if something happens or you need anything."

"Thank you, Dean," Castiel murmured, unable to ignore the stark differences between his room and what he had seen of Dean's. There had been a whole wall of weapons within it – fierce, awful-looking blades and guns that had sent a shiver up Castiel's spine. His room, in contrast, was downright homey, complete with a floral pattern stitched along the bottom of the cream-and-blue duvet cover, and warm wooden furniture and a thick, soft beige carpet. "Whose room did this used to be?"

Dean smiled. "Well, ah, when Mom used to come visit, she'd stay in here," he said after a moment. "And she always said it's nice to have a guest room, for anyone." He coughed, gesturing for Castiel to step back out, and the Omega obeyed. "So the door you saw in there leads to the bathroom; we'll have to share, I'm afraid. Jo and Charlie have a room downstairs, and Sam has his room at the other end of the hall."

Castiel nodded. He had come to the conclusion that Benny was Dean's mate, and it further confirmed his suspicions when there was no mention of the other man listed as a guest in separate rooms.

It made him uncomfortable; he had been very forward with Dean in his affection and liked the feeling of the Alpha holding him tightly. He found Dean's presence very soothing, and hoped that he hadn't offended or threatened Benny with his actions. The Beta had seemed welcoming so far, but they were in his nest now, so Castiel would make a concentrated effort to curb his affection towards the Alpha.

"I figure later in the day, when we've all had some rest, we can go shopping for food, clothes, whatever you need," Dean continued, leading the way back downstairs to where Jo, Charlie and Sam were unpacking the equipment.

Castiel nodded. "That sounds good," he said. He was absolutely exhausted and relished the idea of going to sleep, but not the fact that he would once again be alone to do it. So that left him, awkwardly hovering at the foot of the stairs while the rest of them unpacked their tech. "Where's Benny?"

Sam looked up, brushing his hair out of his face. "He went home," he replied, causing Castiel to frown. "He lives in his own place about twenty minutes away."

"…Oh."

"Something wrong?" Jo asked.

"No." Castiel shook his head. "I just…" He was under the impression that mated pairs lived together. "Didn't you mention that you all tended to stay in the same place after an investigation?"

Jo nodded. "Yeah. He just went to drop off the surveillance van. He'll be back in a little while."

Ah. That made more sense.

"Get some rest, Cas," Charlie suggested after a moment. "You look dead on your feet."

"Yes," the Omega replied, licking his lips, his eyes lingering on Dean for a moment longer. "Alright. Thank you again, for everything."

"Let me know if you need anythin', sweetheart!" Dean called after him as the Omega turned around and ventured upstairs. The group remained silent until they heard Castiel's door close, separating him from the rest of them.

"Dude," Sam muttered, kicking lightly at Dean's foot. "You've got it bad."

Dean blushed, biting his lip, but didn't bother to deny it.

"Well, he is kinda…dreamy," Charlie said after a moment, throwing a wink in Dean's direction. "Especially for someone who's been in a ghost house for the past, like, six months."

"Nothing's gonna happen," Dean snapped defensively. "Like you said, guy's been through a trauma. A really fucking intense nightmare, alright?"

"Hey, you can play the white knight all you want, Winchester," Jo said, grinning. "It's like every fairy tale I read growin' up: the brave Alpha hero and the pretty Omega who falls into their arms. It's practically textbook!"

"You even broke into an evil guarded castle and everything!" Charlie finished, straightening up and stretching her arms out over her head. Dean shook his head, hefting the duffle full of the heavy shoulders cameras up under his arm, a second slung over his shoulder.

"I'm cutting off your guys' _Telemundo _time as of right now," he mock-threatened, carrying the duffles towards the door to the basement, and set them down. "You're cookin' your brains with this fairytale shit."

"You've been huffin' too much haunted mansion dust," Sam called, tossing Dean's handheld camcorder to him from one of their backpacks before sitting down on the arm of a couch, arms folded across his chest. "Anyone could smell the interest on both of you. I mean, I know he's out of your league, but he at least doesn't seem to know it yet."

Dean growled and tackled Sam off the couch and onto the floor, and Charlie and Jo burst into laughter.

* * *

><p>Although Castiel was exhausted, he was unable to sleep for some time after retiring to bed. He steadfastly refused to go into the bathroom, too afraid of looking at his reflection in the mirror and seeing red eyes staring back at him over his shoulder. There was a second mirror in his room, and he had also turned it away, too nervous to bear to look at it.<p>

His bed was just like any normal bed, but the dark void underneath him made him anxious, and soon he had surrounded the darkness with the chest that had lined one wall, a chair, the bedside table, and several boxes that had been piled up in one corner of the room.

This way, if something was under there, it wouldn't be able to get out without making a sound.

That left the room largely bare along the walls. There was a giant wardrobe in one corner, and Castiel reached into it only to hang up his jacket and get a spare wire coat hanger and wrap it around the handles. Just in case. He rigged a similar pulley with the door to the bathroom, and did his best to cover everything with spare blankets he'd found in the wardrobe so that nothing cast an intimidating or human-shaped shadow.

They could hide in the shadows.

Still, sleep eluded him. He stayed up past the point where Benny returned home, headlights of his other car – a deep, rumbling thing – briefly lighting Castiel's room before it entered the garage. Castiel listened to the muffled voices downstairs, and counted off the footsteps as Sam crossed past his room to the one down the hall. He heard the girls retire as well – or, rather, the cessation of their voices downstairs – which left Dean and Benny to Dean's room.

He couldn't differentiate between the two men's footsteps as they retired, which he thought odd because he had become very used to identifying footsteps and noises and putting them in the form of a person. Dean walked differently that Sam who would, presumably, make different noises than Benny, but he couldn't tell.

The sun was rising finally, brightening Castiel's room, but he still couldn't sleep. Even with the sunlight and a lamp on by his head, the room felt too dark. The shadows were starker, and he couldn't look away from the wired-shut wardrobe doors, just waiting for the wires to snap, for the doors to creak open, for the ghosts and monsters to start crawling out.

He kept catching phantom sensations of hands running down his spine, cupping the back of his neck, curling between his thighs. Even though he knew no one was there, he kept feeling the touches, aching with an iron weight in his gut that kept him tossing and turning and wholly unrested.

He jolted upright at a soft knock on the door. "Hey, Cas? You awake?"

He sighed, abandoning the notion of sleep and dragging himself upright, careful not to dislodge any of his barriers, and plodded over to the door. "I'm awake," he said, slipping out so that he could see Dean properly.

The Alpha looked him over, frowning in concern at Castiel's harried, unrested look. "You get any sleep?" he asked, and Castiel couldn't tell from his tone whether it was a question or not. He shook his head anyway, and Dean sighed. "I'm sorry. Your sleep pattern's probably fucked anyway."

"That must be it," the Omega replied, leading the way downstairs. He had slept in the same clothes he'd left the hospital with and he was sure he looked a total mess, but he had spent a long time not bothering with his appearance and he wasn't about to start now on so little sleep. "Did you manage to sleep?"

"A little," Dean replied with a shrug of his shoulder, following Castiel into the kitchen. There were a few bananas sitting out by the refrigerator, and as Dean opened it and began to dig around, Castiel removed one and peeled the whole thing, dropping the peel into the trashcan and taking a seat by the island so that he could break off pieces and eat them slowly; after so long eating whatever he could find, he was unsure how his stomach would react to a sudden influx of food, and he wasn't about to make himself sick after finally getting free. "Maybe if we can keep you awake today you'll crash hard tonight and reset yourself."

Castiel nodded. "What time is it now?"

"Little after twelve," Dean said, pulling back from the fridge and kicking it shut, his hands laden with a pack of thick-cut bacon and a carton of eggs. He eyed the half-eaten banana Castiel's hand. "You up for anything more than that?"

Castiel hesitated, and then shook his head again, breaking off another piece of fruit and sticking it into his mouth. "I'm reluctant to try anything greasy too soon," he said around the mouthful. "I didn't exactly have a varied diet."

"Yeah, I guess that's right," Dean replied, shifting his weight in discomfort. "You know, if you ever need to – like, if you ever start feeling freaked out and you need something, you can come to me. I just want you to know that, right? 'Cause, I mean, I kinda consider you part of the pack anyway and I don't want you hurtin'."

Castiel swallowed, his throat suddenly feeling very tight. Even though he'd known that – it was impossible to imagine that Dean was the kind of man that would give his affection and protection falsely – it was nice to hear.

"I'm just sayin' don't feel like you can't talk to anyone, you know? We've all seen Hell in this line of work and – I mean, even if it's not me you wanna talk to – we could all probably get it a lot better than most."

"Thank you, Dean," Castiel said, taking pity on the stammering Alpha and reaching out to gently brush his fingertips down Dean's arm. His smile was soft; he was genuinely touched. "I appreciate the offer. I'm sorry – Gabriel says I got his sense of humor. We tend to… He always played down the bad things. When we were first stuck there, he'd make jokes. All the time, he'd make jokes…" He dropped his gaze, sitting back, and tried to breathe through the pressure building up behind his eyes. "I suppose I'm not sure what do to, without him around."

Dean nodded. "It's okay not to know what to do," he said softly, making Castiel raise his eyes again. "Half of the normal folks don't know what to do anyway, so you're fine." He offered a smile, something lopsided and comforting that made Castiel smile back. "And you have us, okay? You don't have to go anywhere and you don't have to figure yourself out any time soon."

Castiel smiled, dropping his gaze to the small bite-sized piece of fruit still in his hands. "Thank you, Dean," he murmured, finishing off the banana as Dean turned back around and turned on the stove, setting the bacon and eggs down next to the oven. He bent down to grab two skillets out of one of the lower cabinets and, blushing, Castiel averted his eyes.

He was saved from having to come up with anything new to say by the appearance of Benny, the Beta's hair dark from the shower and flopping down into his forehead. "Mornin', world!" he greeted cheerfully, clapping Castiel on the shoulder and giving him a big grin as he settled beside the Omega with a gentle nudge to his shoulder.

Castiel returned the smile, nodding his head in greeting.

"Mornin', brother," Dean said, straightening. "How was the couch?"

"Pain in the neck, as usual," Benny replied, rubbing at the back of his neck with a wince. "Remind me next time I get home to bring out a real mattress for when I stay here and we have extras."

"You got it."

Castiel blinked, frowning in confusion as the words hit him. "You slept on the couch?" he asked, looking between Dean and Benny when they turned to him. "Why?"

Benny smirked. "Well, sugar, no hard feelin's and all, but you kinda took my room last night."

"But I thought…" Castiel swallowed, looking down nervously at his flexing hands. He took a deep breath, hating how unsure he was, how his heart throbbed against the back of his ribs in anxiety at having both Dean's and Benny's eyes so fixed on him. "I thought you would share a room with Dean."

Dean and Benny exchanged a look. "Why would you think that, sweetheart?" Dean asked, his voice gentle.

The Omega raised his eyes. "Aren't you two…mated?"

The pair exchanged another look, before Benny broke out into hearty laughter. "Oh, Lord, no, Cas, we're not mated," Dean stammered, a pretty, dark blush spreading out across his cheeks. He recovered quickly, to his credit, a cocky grin splitting his face. "I'm way outta Benny's league."

"You wish," the Beta jabbed, throwing an errant pen Dean's way, which the Alpha ducked so that it glanced off his shoulder instead of hitting him in the face as it was meant to. "But nope, Dean is livin' the bachelor Vida Loca, and I have my own nest back home."

"You spend all that time away from your mate?" Castiel asked, disbelieving and trying to distract himself from the strange excitement he felt at learning that Dean was unattached. "And what you do is so dangerous…they're okay with that?"

Benny laughed. "You kiddin'? She practically pushed me out the door. Long as I check in with her every night, she doesn't worry."

"I couldn't imagine that," Castiel said, shaking his head. "Not knowing whether my mate was alive or dead – not knowing if they were okay." A small shiver ran down his spine, and he scratched at the gauze taped to his neck, wincing when the tape pulled at the small hairs growing there.

Dean noticed. "Hey, you need to redress that? The doctors gave me some antiseptic and antibiotics for you to take, just in case." He set the skillets down over the stove to heat up and walked over to the duffle bags still sitting by the basement door. "I think it's in here…yeah!" He stood back up carrying a small, green emergency medical kit and brought it back to the kitchen island, opening it up and handing Castiel a bottle of pills. "Two of those every six hours, he said. I guess you're a little overdue for a dose, but I don't think an hour difference will kill you. There's some gauze and tape in here too if you think you need it."

"Thank you, Dean," Castiel replied, unscrewing the cap and pouring out two of the little white pills. He tossed them back in one clean, dry swallow, before screwing the cap back on and setting it to one side. "I don't suppose you could…help me? I have no experience with this kind of thing, and it's certainly in an awkward place."

"Uh, yeah." Dean blinked. "No problem. Benny, handle food. I'm sure the bacon will wake up at least Jo."

"I heard that!" they heard the Beta call as Castiel led the way up to the shared bathroom, first aid kit in his hands. Dean laughed behind him, shaking his head.

Castiel turned on the bright light and pointedly turned away from the mirror, sitting himself down on the wide, low counter next to the sink. "Thank you, Dean," he said again, handing the kit to the Alpha as Dean stepped inside and closed the door behind them.

Dean tossed him a small smile. His cheeks were still a light pink, and from such a short distance away Castiel could make out a smattering of freckles across his nose and face, and see the thin line of paler pink around the edge of his lips, and the dark beginning of scruff along his jaw and throat.

He licked his lips, unable to tear his gaze away from the gorgeous Alpha standing in front of him, carefully unpacking all of the components of the first aid kit and laying them out before he straightened, turning his attention back to Castiel.

"I think this'll be easier if you turned around," Dean said after a moment, gesturing to the fact that Castiel was near the door and that the bite was on that side of his neck; turning around would give Dean more room to work with.

The Omega tensed up, chancing a glance over his shoulder. "I…I don't want to look in the mirror," he said after a moment, flushing and lowering his eyes. It was a silly thing to be afraid of, he knew. "That's how he always came in. The reflections make it easier."

"Kind of like a 'Bloody Mary' kind of deal, right?" Dean asked, and Castiel blinked at him, confused at the reference. Dean shook his head. "Just don't say it three times in front of a mirror, and we're golden." He sighed, and tapped twice on Castiel's thigh. "Fine. Scoot down the counter, then, and I'll work from the other side."

Castiel obeyed, and soon they were positioned well enough with Castiel facing the door, away from the mirror, and Dean braced against the sink and carefully peeling his bandage away. Castiel had to tilt his head back and bare his throat to allow the action, hissing at every pull on his sensitive skin or when the tape ripped a clean patch of hair straight off.

Dean huffed a laugh. "May as well shave you while we're here," he commented, thumbing over the red skin, and Castiel swallowed but said nothing while Dean peeled the rest of the bandage away. When he set it down, the inside was spotted with blood, but not as much as Castiel had expected after being told of the depth of his injuries. Dean whistled; "You're healing up nicely here, Cas."

Castiel hissed, flinching away from the sudden cold, stinging touch of an antiseptic wipe brushing against his skin. Dean immediately backed off, hands raised in a placating gesture. "Sorry. I'm used to patching Sammy and Jo up and they kind of curse me out through the pain."

Castiel snatched the cloth away with another accusing glare. "This part I can do myself," he said, wiping absently at his neck and wincing at every pull of the stinging cloth against his ragged injury. "Do you think it will require another bandage?"

Dean nodded. "Maybe one more, but honestly I think you'll be okay so long as you don't pull and reopen anything. Shouldn't be too hard, right?"

"Right," Castiel replied. When he was finished with the cloth it was tinged a light pink and his skin tingled from the moisture hitting the cool air of the bathroom. "Then I think I'll forgo it, for now, if I don't need it."

"Fair dues. How are your knees?"

"Fine." Castiel pushed himself to his feet, finding the trash can and throwing the used wipe into it with another soft sigh. "I should shave."

His statement was met with silence, and when he looked up he could see Dean's eyes on him, dark and fixed on the unmarked, exposed side of his neck. The Alpha abruptly blinked, swallowing, and seemed to jerk back to awareness. "Right. Okay. My razor's plugged in over there." He made a vague, aborted gesture towards the other side of the sink. "Electric, unfortunately, so we'll just have to share for now. I'll leave you to it."

"Dean!" Castiel's hand shot out, wrapping tight around Dean's arm hard enough that he knew his nails were likely hurting, biting down into Dean's skin to keep him still. When Dean turned around, his eyes were threaded with red in shock. "Don't – don't leave me," he said. It sounded pathetic and weak, especially to himself, and he swallowed and forced himself to let go. "If I have to look, I need someone here to make sure he doesn't – that he can't -." He took a deep breath, setting his jaw, and raised his eyes to meet Dean's. "I don't want to become dependent on you, but until he's gone for good…"

"I get it." Dean's gentle fingers dragged across Castiel's scruffy jaw, curling underneath his chin before letting go. There was an unreadable expression on Dean's face, like he couldn't decide whether Castiel was being ridiculous or adorable. Maybe both. There was an odd sympathy in his eyes, but his smile was happy. "I'll stay, Cas. I'll go where you go."

_We stick together, baby brother, we'll be okay. I promise._

Castiel forced a small smile to his face. "Okay. Thank you, Dean."

* * *

><p>When the pair returned downstairs, they were met by a chorus of loud wolf whistles, and Castiel blushed as Charlie pulled him to the kitchen island and shoved a plate of cut apples with peanut butter in front of him.<p>

"You clean up good, Cas!" Jo said with an appreciative nod, causing the Omega to bite his lip and smile down at his food. In truth, he felt better and more human now than he had in what felt like forever. His skin was clean, and he had known with each pass of the razor he was sweeping the dust, the decay, the time, the _memory _away until he looked as fresh-faced and young as he had been going into the hotel. Without the beard his eyes were brighter, sharper, the strong edge of his jaw more evident when not hidden by thick, dark hair.

Dean joined him by his side, their shoulders and arms brushing together as he reached for a piece of crispy bacon. "Eat up, Cas," Charlie urged, nodding to his plate. In truth he wasn't that hungry, his stomach unused to anything more than two or three rats every day or so, but everything smelled so good, and his mouth watered at the chance to taste something sweet after so long.

The apple crunched beautifully between his teeth, and he eagerly scooped the peanut butter onto his finger and licked it off before eating the fruit, appreciative noises falling from his closed mouth.

He didn't notice Dean openly staring until Sam kicked him hard in the shin. "So," the Alpha said, too brightly, turning to address the rest of the group, "I figure we can go out, get Cas some clothes, a toothbrush, a razor and any other shit we might need – plus food. Lots of, ah, fruit and shit." He bit his lip, eyes darting over to the sight of Castiel chasing a drop of apple juice down his finger. The Alpha shifted his weight, took a breath, and glared at the rest of the group who were barely containing their laughter. "Then, we gotta figure out Sutton."

Abruptly the attitude in the room grew tense and serious as the group sobered. "Sutton is still somewhere, buried outside the hotel grounds. We salted that place to the bare bones and he still made an appearance to Cas yesterday."

"And _only _yesterday," Charlie noted, frowning. "He waited until we were out of the hospital, on our way home, when Cas was alone."

Dean's attention was drawn as Castiel abruptly pushed more of his weight onto Dean, his thigh pressing against the Alpha's underneath the lip of the island. "That's how he hunts," he said, pushing the plate away, only a smear of peanut butter and some clear juice to tell there had been any food there in the first place. "He uses isolation and fear." The Omega swallowed, licking his lips, his eyes darting over to meet Dean's. "He's smart about it, too."

"And what about the female?" Sam asked, sitting forward. "Did you manage to figure out who she was?"

Castiel shrugged one shoulder. "She was Anna's mother – Anna was her daughter, and the feral Alpha's. She never…_really _spoke to me, but her mother never went to the bathroom where she was." He shook his head. "Anna liked to play in there but the mother – never. I knew I was safe from her if I stayed in there, but there was never any food."

"You said she never let you leave," Dean murmured, frowning.

Castiel nodded. "I tried, but I never could. I believe it was some kind of powerful magic, or a curse, whatever else it might be, I don't know. All I know is I went in, and I never came back out."

"But we did," Charlie said. "We went in and outta that place like three, four times."

"He was trapping Omegas," Sam said, sitting up. "For his harem! Right?" He turned to Castiel. "Am I right?"

"There were a lot of Omega ghosts in the basement," Castiel replied, looking away. "They were all deathly afraid of him. None of them ever talked to me. The female Alpha was the only one who could actually speak. So, I don't know, but it's as good a guess as any."

* * *

><p>They went out to buy Castiel the essentials. He accepted the gift of a new toothbrush, some toothpaste, and a new razor as well as some null-smelling clothes. Dean took him to the pharmacy while Charlie and Benny covered food. Sam and Jo stayed behind to research more into the history behind Alistair's harem and his apparent wife and child, which they hadn't known about before Castiel had revealed that information to them.<p>

When it came time to buying shampoo, Castiel found it difficult to decide.

"What kind do you use?" he'd asked. It seemed ridiculous to him, to not be able to decide on something as mundane as shower gel and shampoo, but his tongue was stuck behind his teeth because he couldn't shake the notion that he didn't _want _his own distinctive scent.

Dean shifted his weight, gesturing to a bland black bottle. "One of the bulk ones, you know. It's all the same shit to me."

Castiel nodded.

"But, ah." Dean leaned in, grabbing a white bottle a few sets down from the one he'd gestured to. He popped open the cap and lifted it to his nose, breathing in deeply. "Yeah, this is the one. I've always liked the scent of it."

Castiel took it from him, breathing it in. It had a slightly sweet scent to it that reminded him of vanilla, and he smiled instinctively, lowering it again and closing the bottle, before he gently placed it into the black plastic basket hanging from his arm.

"Yes, I think that'll do nicely."

* * *

><p>Charlie and Benny beat them home, and Dean and Castiel came back to find themselves practically ambushed by Sam, sheets of paper clutched tightly in his hand as he took Dean's arm and led them over to the coffee table in front of the couch. There were newspaper clippings and printouts and thick manila folders spread out all over the small space, with the rest of the group gathered tightly around it. Sam returned to his small empty space on the couch, dragging Dean with him, while Castiel accepted Charlie's offered hand and knelt down next to her.<p>

"Dean, get this," Sam said, shoving what looked like a stack of old copies of printed-out documents. They looked very official, and Dean turned them around, noting the dark ink-blot of a seal on one of the top corners. "We relooked through the old housing permits associated with the hotel, and resident and tax forms: Alistair Sutton _did _have a wife. _And _a daughter!"

"Ruby and Anna Milton," Jo finished. "They were always registered with their last names; Alphas couldn't legally mate back then, so their whole affair was kept under wraps."

"We looked at the death certificate too," Sam added, pulling out another two sheets of paper from the mess. "Anna Milton died aged seven, drowned in a bathtub." Involuntarily, a shiver ran through Castiel – it must have been the bathtub where he had sat, so many times. A chill went up his spine as he thought of how often he had sat there, talking to her with her blank, clawed-out eyes and lipless grin. "And Ruby went missing shortly after, and was found dead about a month later in room 109."

"She killed him."

The room went quiet, eyes focused on Castiel as he reached forward, grabbing a black and white photo of a smiling woman between his hands and pulling it to him. Vaguely, he could recognize the face, the eyes, and the long black hair of the woman who had been his tormentor for so long. His upper lip curled, just for a second, in a brief snarl as he looked at her dark eyes and smiling face. "She killed my brother."

"Because he was an Alpha?" Charlie asked sympathetically, her hand flattening over Castiel's closed fist for a moment. The touch seemed to startle him, because at once he let go of the photograph and flinched away from Charlie's touch, into Dean's shin and knee where the Alpha was sitting on the couch above him.

Then, he blinked, and nodded. "Yes," he said, tone guarded and strained. "She didn't like Alphas."

"But she _was _one," Benny said, "and she _married _one. I wonder why the sudden hatred."

"It could be linked to her death," Dean said, his hand falling to gently rest at the back of Castiel's head, absently petting through his hair while the Omega tried to calm himself down. Castiel curled his knees up to his chest and rested his head on Dean's thigh, sighing gently at the soothing touches. "Is there a coroner's report? And who killed Anna?"

"Oh! I saw this; wait a sec." Charlie pulled a laptop out of the thick black case sitting on her other side, towards Jo, and she swept a few of the files away to make a space. "The coroner's reports were sealed, obviously, but since it's so old…" For another few minutes she was typing away, brow furrowed and corner of her lip tucked between her teeth as she concentrated. Castiel opened his eyes again, absently sliding papers aside with the tip of one finger, careful not to dislodge too much since it looked as though Benny and Jo were attempting to organize and sort through the mess. "Got it! Anna drowned, and they pinned it on the mother since Ruby…_apparently _had a history of mental illness." Her tone was skeptical at best. "And…and Ruby was found with multiple lacerations down her sternum, her lids and lips removed, and it looked like there'd been evidence of sexual assault as well."

"So, what? Ruby goes off and kills her kid, Sutton finds out, tries to assert his dominance over her, and when that fails he kills her too?"

"And then hides her body?" Sam asked, shaking his head. "No. That doesn't make sense. Sutton was smart. He wouldn't hide the body for a month only to let it get found again in one of the rooms. A fucking _police officer _testified to just finding it in one of the beds, right?"

Charlie nodded. "Sutton was arrested and found guilty of keeping the harem."

"But not the murders?"

"Ruby and Anna remained unsolved due to lack of evidence," Charlie said, sitting back on her heels and frowning. "And Sutton didn't get a very big sentence, considering the amount of Omegas he supposedly had. He only got three years."

Dean let out a low growl, eyes flashing red. For a moment, his hand tightened in Castiel's hair, enough that the Omega looked up and caught the snarl as it passed across Dean's face. "That twisted _fuck _got three years?" he asked, his voice hard, entire body tense like if the living Alistair Sutton walked through the door right now, Dean would be on him in a second, teeth at his throat.

Jo's eyes were lowered in natural deference when she nodded. "But," Charlie went on to say, "he was killed in a prison fight two years into his sentence."

"_Good_," Dean said, almost surprised at the venom and satisfaction with which he spat the word.

"Does it say where he was buried?"

Charlie shook her head. "We'd probably have to go to the actual prison to find out those records," she said. Her fingers created another flurry of small tapping sounds as she typed. "He was incarcerated at the U.S. Penitentiary in Leavenworth."

"That's less than an hour away!" Benny said.

"Awesome. We can salt and burn this fucker's bones, and then he'll be gone for good."


	5. Chapter 5

It was decided that they would wait until the next day to begin searching for any possible archives, and so they all retired to their separate rooms. Castiel took another dose of antibiotics and washed his face and neck carefully in the kitchen with a wet wash cloth, unwilling to chance being left alone in a shower, especially since he could no longer think of a bathroom without remembering the many hours spent in hers, sitting where she had taken her final breath, playing games with her under the rusted and broken head and hiding from her raging mother.

He bid goodnight to Dean, Sam, Benny, Charlie and Jo, one by one as they waved to him or called out a goodnight to him, and he was the last into his room. It was eight o'clock at night, and the sun had not set yet but his window faced the sunrise and so most of his room was in darkness.

He closed the door behind him, and froze.

One of the boxes he had placed next to his bed had moved. It now lay skewed almost two feet away, as though something had kicked it out.

A cold shiver ran down his spine as he turned the light on and very carefully walked over to the box. It was an old hat box, and it felt heavy in his hands as he picked it back up and replaced it where it had been, too afraid to kneel down and look underneath the bed.

The sound of a high-pitched child's laugh reached him and he spun around quickly.

He could hear footsteps; the rapid, unsteady run of a child.

"…Anna?" he hazarded.

The laugh sounded again, and behind him he could hear a soft squeaking sound. When he turned around, the door to the wardrobe was slowly swinging out.

He stepped backwards so quickly that he ran into the edge of the door to the bathroom. No. _No_.

He'd wired that door shut.

The hanger was in pieces on the floor.

Within the darkness of the wardrobe, nothing moved. The door swung until it was about three inches open, and came to a stop.

He heard the laughter. The back of his neck was freezing as though someone was pushing an ice cube against his nape. Slowly, his eyes fixed on the door; he reached behind him and curled his fingers around the warm metal handle. There was still wire around that, at least, but it meant that his exit was cut off and he had nowhere to run to but the main door to the hallway.

Nothing moved.

Inside his chest, Castiel felt like his heart was expanding, the beat of it loud, clogging his throat. He felt sick with fear and uncertainty.

Nothing moved.

If he closed his eyes, or ran to the bed and slid under the covers, they couldn't get him. Alistair had never found him in his bed, and Anna had never gone looking. He was safe.

As soon as the thought crossed his mind, the hatbox flew out from beside the bed, careening into the wall less than a foot from his head. Castiel flinched with a startled yell, and from underneath the bed came the sound of a low Alpha growl.

Anna laughed.

Red eyes flashed from the darkness near the bed.

Castiel heard a sickening crunching sound.

A hand had curled around the wardrobe door. Clawed, black around the fingertips. The wood buckled underneath its grip.

He ran.

A heavy weight slammed into his shoulders as he reached the door, making him fall against it, but he twisted the door handle savagely and fell out onto his hands and knees. It felt like a rush of hot air followed him, and he staggered to his feet and threw himself against Dean's door.

"Dean!" he yelled, banging his fist against the white-painted wood. Again, again. "Dean! Dean! Let me in!"

Castiel looked over his shoulder, dreading what he would see. A clawed hand was dug into the floor of the hallway, dragging what looked like a beaten, grey corpse out behind it. The thing had sharp yellow teeth half-hidden by rotting flesh, and clinging to its shoulders were thin grey shreds of cloth, and it slithered along the ground like a snake.

A strong hand wrapped around Castiel's arm and suddenly he was being pulled into Dean's room, the Alpha cupping his face and forcing their eyes to meet. "Did you see it?" Castiel demanded, grabbing Dean's shirt.

"Cas, what's going on?"

"Did you fucking _see it_?" the Omega said, his voice sounding far too loud within Dean's small, quiet room. Dean let him go, frowning, and walked back over to his door. Castiel yelled out a warning, running forward to pull him back.

There was nothing in the hallway when Dean opened the door.

"I…" No. _No_. He could feel the atmosphere change, Dean's demeanor going from worried and protective to pitying; Dean would think he was crazy. Fuck, _he _felt like he was going crazy. "I saw him. He came out from the wardrobe. Dean." He lifted his eyes when the Alpha pulled him back into his room, shutting the door quietly behind them. "Please. Please believe me. He was _there_."

"I do believe you, sweetheart," Dean said, rubbing a hand over his eyes. He looked absolutely exhausted, and his voice was rough and low. "I'm sorry. Look, we can -." He stifled a yawn behind his hand – he'd probably been well on his way to asleep when Castiel had come crashing into his room. There hadn't been that much difference between Dean retiring and Castiel, but maybe Dean was the kind of person who fell asleep quickly and deeply. "We can investigate it. Lemme -."

"Dean, no." Castiel caught the Alpha's fingers as Dean made his way back to the door. "You're tired. _I'm _tired. It can wait until the morning." Dean blinked at him, unmoving. "He's…he's gone now."

"Okay," he finally said, relaxing and stepping back into Castiel's space. His other hand threaded through Castiel's thick hair, warm and gentle when it settled at the nape of his neck. "You wanna sleep here for the night?"

It was asked innocently enough, and Castiel knew his brain shouldn't have jumped to the place it did quite so quickly, but he couldn't stop his first reaction, which was to blush and drop his gaze down to their feet. "I, um…" He coughed, clearing his throat. "You wouldn't mind?"

Dean shook his head. "Nah. Come on. This way I can make sure you're safe."

Castiel hadn't had the opportunity to change into the new pajamas they had gotten. "Is…is it okay if I stay in my jeans or -?"

"Oh." Now it was Dean's turn to blush. The Alpha reached over and flicked on his beside lamp. "I have some sweats you can wear, but they'll smell like me. Or you can sleep with the jeans, or without them." He shrugged a shoulder, sitting back on his bed. "Whatever you're comfortable with, Cas."

Castiel nodded, and quickly unfastened the jeans from around his waist and let them pool on the floor by his ankles. He stepped out, bent down to pull off his socks, and joined Dean on the bed. "I'm sorry," he murmured as Dean pulled back and slid under the covers, holding them up to make room for Castiel.

"What for?" he asked. They were both lying on their backs now, looking up towards the ceiling, shoulders brushing together. It was both very awkward and very intimate for Castiel; he hadn't shared space with another living person in any sort of comfort for as long as he could remember.

Castiel found himself smiling. "For waking you. And your bed is clearly not made for two people."

Dean chuckled softly, his arm moving up to rest against his forehead. "S'no trouble, Cas. Just try and get some sleep. Sorry if I, ah, do anything in the middle of the night. I toss and turn a lot."

"I forgive you, in advance," Castiel said, earning another soft laugh from the Alpha. He liked Dean's laugh; it was warm and genuine. It was very easy to fall asleep, listening to Dean's breathing.

* * *

><p>When he woke, he was wrapped up tight in Dean's arms, his nose buried in the Alpha's neck, one leg slung around Dean's waist and Dean's thigh trapped between his own. The heat between them was almost ridiculous, and sweat was starting to bead around the collar of his shirt, and his neck was slick with it, but he was so damn comfortable he couldn't bring himself to move.<p>

Dean shifted as Castiel stretched, loosening his grip just long enough for Castiel to roll over and settle more comfortably against Dean's chest, the Alpha's face against his messy hair as Dean curled himself to fit the curve of Castiel's body. Castiel rested his cheek against Dean's bicep, smiling as he closed his eyes and allowed the Alpha to pull him back against his chest.

Dean let out a soft sigh against Castiel's neck, making the Omega shiver. "You smell _awesome_," he murmured, his voice sleep-rough against Castiel's neck, and Castiel could feel teeth against his nape as Dean pulled him closer, the arm Castiel was sleeping on wrapping around the Omega's shoulders as Dean held him.

Castiel huffed a laugh, landing a playful bite against Dean's bicep. "Glad you think so," he said, enough laughter in his voice that Dean opened his eyes.

"No, I mean it though," Dean replied, still sounding half-asleep, nosing along the sweaty line of Castiel's neck. Castiel could feel Dean grinding up against him, his cock hardening against his ass. "Fuck, you're -." Then, Dean froze, abruptly letting Castiel go and pushing himself away. "Shit. I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Castiel said, rolling onto his other side so that he could see the anxious Alpha. Dean had pushed a bunch of covers between him and Castiel, trying to hide his arousal as best he could. "I'm Omega, and you're Alpha – it's natural." He sat up, sighing when Dean merely continued to look uncomfortable, like he wanted to run but didn't want to leave at the same time. "You make me feel very safe, Dean," he said, forcing himself to make and hold eye contact as the Alpha's pretty, expressive green eyes met his. "I want you to know that – that you have permission to touch me. You always have permission to touch me."

Dean blinked, silent for a moment. "Yeah?" he finally asked, his tone hopeful even though his expression remained guarded.

Castiel smiled. "Yes, Dean," he replied, reaching out to place a hand on Dean's shoulder. "You told me that you consider me part of your pack." Dean nodded. "Well, that goes both ways. I trust you, as a man, and as an Alpha." With that, he withdrew his hand, throwing the covers back and climbing to his feet. "So please don't eat yourself up about a little morning affection. I've gone a very long time without it."

Dean let out a small, surprised laugh, but it sounded happy and that was good enough for Castiel, as he pulled his jeans towards him and started to put them on. "You got it, Cas," he said, getting up as well. He'd apparently calmed down enough that there wasn't a tell-tale bulge in his pajama bottoms, and when he rubbed his hand against Castiel's shoulder, the gesture was playful and light. "Make sure you take more of your antibiotics. I'll be down in a sec."

* * *

><p>"Oh, Sutton. I remember him. Nasty piece of work."<p>

"You were incarcerated at the same time as Sutton, weren't you?" Jo asked, taking the picture back from the elderly man. She and Benny were interviewing the old Alpha male who'd been listed as Alistair's bunkmate at the time of his imprisonment. As the two Betas, it was figured that they would be the least imposing people to interview, and it meant that the Alphas were at the prison with Castiel, digging through the archives.

The man's name was Rufus Turner. He had a thick thatch of grey hair on the very top of his head and spread across his upper lip. His dark skin was weathered and sagged around his jaws so much that he gave the vague impression of a bulldog. One of his eyes was completely greyed-out and blind.

He nodded, sucking a breath in between his teeth, and jabbed his meaty finger hard against the park bench where he'd agreed to meet them. There was a carved chess table on the top of the bench, but the pieces had long ago been lost or taken. "Real bad egg, if you ask me. Some people…" He leaned forward, voice going low, "Some people, you know, just – bad stuff seems to follow 'em around." He leaned back, coughing wetly into his fist. "He walked in and people started droppin' like flies."

"Do you know where they took prisoners to be buried?" Benny asked.

Rufus shook his head. "Burned 'em under the building, as far as I could tell. Never saw 'em leave with the bodies, anyway." He shrugged a shoulder. "If you two kids are lookin' into him, you gotta be careful. Yellow-Eyes was the first to go."

"Yellow-Eyes?"

"Mallach," Rufus said with another cough. "Azazel Mallach. We called him Yellow-Eyes, 'cause he was real jaundiced, you know? He was the one that took Sutton down, and then -." He snapped his fingers, lips puffing out as he mimicked an explosion into the air. "Poof. Found dead ver' next day."

"Are you…Are you saying that Sutton killed him?"

"Not just him." Rufus grinned, showing teeth. "Lot of Alphas started droppin' off after him."

"But not you," Benny murmured, frowning.

Rufus shook his head. "Nah. Sutton had a, well, he had a _type_." He chuckled, heaving a sigh that ended in another wet, noisy cough. He pulled out a handkerchief and sneezed into it, blinking slowly as though the action had winded and exhausted him. "Mated Alphas only."

"Mated Alphas," Jo said, when they bid goodbye to Rufus Turner and clambered back into Benny's van to head back to the prison. "Why? How could he have known?"

"Visits," Benny murmured thoughtfully. "Maybe he knew who had mates that would visit. Maybe he saw the mates as threats, right? Harem instincts are hard to ignore."

Jo hummed, drumming her nails against her knee, and pulled out her cell. "It's as good a guess as any."

* * *

><p>It was so unbearably hot in the prison, and Castiel had never been so surrounded by Alphas before. Even back with his family, which was made pretty much wholly of Alphas, he had never felt so thickly suffocated with pheromones. The catcalls weren't even as bad as the pure <em>stench <em>of untreated Alpha rut, and Castiel found himself as Dean's active shadow, unwilling to stray too far from the Alpha just in case.

The warden had led them into the room full of the older archives. There had been a kind-looking Beta surrounded by high piles of sheets and files, who had smiled at them and said she had just been starting the task of reorganizing everything, but unfortunately she hadn't reached the decade they were going to be researching.

"Anything we have on prisoners from the forties and fifties should be in these three shelves," she said, gesturing to the three large metal shelves. The whole setup was strangely reminiscent of a furniture or gardening store, the shelves filled with long file boxes and on the bottom level were head-high filing cabinets. "Go ahead, and good luck – just try and put everything back where you found it when you're done!"

"Thank you…Gilda," Charlie said with a wink to her as the Beta smiled and blushed back at her. Gilda made her way back into the front of the room.

"Just, make sure you folks don't wander too far," the warden warned them. "Especially you." He nodded to Castiel. "I don't mean anythin' by it, mind, but this prison is full of violent criminals who wouldn't hesitate to do some really bad things given half the chance."

"I understand," Castiel replied.

He wasn't sure if the warden saw something in his face, something that said that he couldn't possibly fear anything the men in here would do, but the man blinked and straightened with another nod. "I'll be patrolling the hallway outside. We're letting the prisoners out for free time outside in about four hours, so I'll have to make sure you're either out by then, or you stay inside until we get them out."

"Understood," Dean said with a small salute, and the warden disappeared between the shelves. Castiel accepted the stack of boxes Sam pushed into his hands and made himself a spot within a circle of boxes next to Charlie, and opened the first one just as Jo rang. "Talk to me," the Alpha said, carefully balancing the phone against his shoulder and face as he started on the filing cabinets, rifling quickly through. "No shit, really? Well, I guess that makes sense. Yeah – I. Okay. Wait, really? Are you sure? Okay, wow. You're headin' back? Awesome. See you guys soon."

He hung up quickly, sliding his phone back into his pocket. "What's the word?" Sam asked.

"Jo and Benny just got back from talkin' to Sutton's bunkmate. Apparently there was a string of murders and deaths just after he got shanked." He looked up, shooting a grin over in Sam's direction. "All _mated _Alphas. Benny thinks he was still goin' for building up his harem, didn't like those Alphas as a threat."

"The Omega mates would be the only Omegas he'd come into contact with in the prison," Castiel murmured. "He might have been sick enough not to be able to differentiate between those that were 'his' and those that were mated to others."

"The Alphas would have been 'in the way'," Sam finished. "So Sutton was killing in the prison too, before he moved into the hotel."

"I wonder what made him move?" Charlie asked.

"Apparently the prisoners were burned after their death," Dean said. "Jo told me that's what Rufus thought, anyway. So there's no bones to go after. There must have been something he was powerful enough to imprint on in the hotel to keep him alive, and here." He frowned. "This ghost is…"

"What?" Castiel asked, a hard knot of dread forming in the pit of his stomach.

"It's just…fuck, this isn't like anything we've seen before," Dean said, shaking his head. "There's something we're missing. Some motive or something, I'm sure of it."

"Oh, God." Castiel dropped his head to his hands, curling his knees up to his chest. "He's not going to stop. He's going to keep hunting, isn't he?" He shook his head, raking his nails back through his hair until he met the little raised scar of the bite on the back of his neck. "He'll follow me until I'm dead."

"No." The Omega looked up, surprised at the vehemence in Dean's voice. The Alpha slammed the filing cabinet shut and walked over, kneeling down in front of Castiel and taking his hands in Dean's. He folded them together, holding them between his own. "If this bastard's comin' for you, we'll be ready."

"How?" Castiel demanded, pulling his hands away and pushing himself to his feet. "You don't even know what you're fighting! What if – what if there isn't any way to get rid of him?"

"Hey." Dean stood as well. "_Everything _can be killed, okay? I ain't met a ghost or monster yet that I can't gank. This guy…" He shook his head, reaching for Castiel again and glad when the Omega didn't shrug his touch off again. Dean pulled Castiel closer to him, resting their foreheads together. "This guy is just some fucked up feral with a God complex, and that's all."

"Hey, guys?" Sam's voice caught Dean and Castiel's attention, and the pair broke apart so that Sam could show them a small list of scrawled names across a sheet of lined paper. It was clearly old, had maybe been copied or faxed later one too many times, but the stamp across the top was just discernible.

"Visitation rights?" Castiel asked, frowning in confusion.

Sam nodded. "It's a list of all the people allowed to visit the prison for the various inmates. Look about half-way down."

Dean took the paper, squinting at it. "Holy fuck."

"Ruby Milton," Sam said with a nod, his lips pressed into a thin line and a heavy frown on his face.

"I don't understand. Why would he put down the name of his dead wife?"

"Ain't that the question of the day?" Dean gave the piece of paper back to Sam, rubbing his hand over his mouth. "Alright. So we've got a house-hopping ghost, a string of murders that don't quite line up, and a bunch of post-death inmates, where Omegas were the target."

"I don't know, I just…"

"Cas?" As the brothers bent over the files from which Sam had gotten the visitation list, Charlie slowly came over and caught Castiel's attention with a gentle touch to his shoulder. "You got a sec?" He nodded, casting a brief glance over his shoulder to Dean's hunched back, but followed her a little ways away until the brothers' conversation was barely more than an incoherent mumble. "I wanna…ask you something. And I realize it's really not my place to ask, and you don't have to answer."

The Omega bit his lip and nodded with a small sigh. "Go ahead," he said. He had a feeling he knew what she was going to ask anyway. The heat was worse farther in the back of the room, and while it was uncomfortable, he welcomed it if the only other option was to freeze from the inside out.

Charlie bit her lip, folding her arms across her chest, weight shifting. It looked like she wanted to be anywhere rather than right here. "Did Alistair…or Ruby…did they ever…." She coughed, looking away. "I mean, you had Heats inside the hotel, right? Did either of them -?"

Castiel turned away.

"I don't want to go into detail about it," he muttered hoarsely, rubbing gently over the raw bite mark on the side of his neck. He shivered when he touched it, remembering the warm blood that had stung his thighs and crusted underneath his nails, remembering the freezing touch and teeth against his neck. "But yes."

"Okay." Charlie's small hand settled over his shoulder, squeezing gently. "Okay. You don't have to say anything else."

"It's why she killed Gabriel," Castiel said suddenly, flattening his hand over hers when she made to leave. He turned so that he could face her, looking at some point over her shoulder instead of her surprised, expectant face. "Gabriel…helped me, the first few months. During my Heat." He took a deep breath, letting go of her hand. It felt like he was barely holding it together, like he'd collapse into himself over the void that had taken up residence inside of his chest. "So…so he's dead because of me. If he hadn't touched me -."

He couldn't continue. His mouth felt clogged with cotton, and there was a heavy weight pressing on the backs of his eyes, but he refused to cry. He had shed too many tears already in that hotel, and he refused to give any more.

"Let's get back to Sam and Dean," Charlie suggested kindly, smiling, and Castiel nodded. "I think I might have a theory as to why Alistair can move from place to place, though."

They had gotten back to Sam and Dean before Castiel could respond, and the Alphas looked up as they returned. Castiel found himself gravitating towards Dean, rubbing his forehead against Dean's shoulder and sighing when Dean cupped the nape of his neck gently. Charlie didn't seem too interested in voicing her theory anymore and so Castiel didn't press – truthfully he didn't want to talk about it anymore, or dig into his time in that hotel, but it was quickly becoming apparent to him that he was likely their greatest source of evidence.

They were missing something. The answer probably laid somewhere within Castiel's experience.

He didn't want Dean to look at him any different, see him as something pathetic and dirty. He'd let his own brother _mate _with him purely because he was too weak to survive a Heat on his own. Gabriel – sweet, sarcastic, always-joking Gabriel – had paid the price for that.

Castiel curled up next to one of the filing cabinets, too miserable to be of much use to any of the Alphas as they slowly sifted through the rest of the many, many documents, gathering coroner reports of Sutton's death, and the string of murders and deaths that had occurred right after, as well as a copy of the visitation list.

"I still don't _get it_," Sam said after what felt like hours, sitting back with a huff. "Why was Ruby on the visitor's list? It doesn't make any sense."

"I know," Dean replied with a shake of his head. "I don't get it either – I mean -." He sighed, rubbing his hands over his face and then up through his hair. "The location hopping, the way she was found…. It just doesn't make sense to me. He hides a whole harem of Omegas in his basement, but when he slaughters his wife and daughter he suddenly slips up and leaves them in such an obvious place? And then he puts his wife on the visitor's list? I don't fucking get it."

"Well, maybe we can get answers," Castiel abruptly said, lifting his head. "You have – you have equipment that'll pick him up, right? If he's there, we can listen to him, ask him what the fuck he wants."

"Cas." Dean blinked at him. "You don't wanna do that. There's – there's all sorts of bad shit that comes from invitin' a ghost in."

"He's already _in_," Castiel snapped, eyes narrowing in a glare. "He's here, and he's after me, and he's not going to stop, and none of this makes any _sense_." He growled, suddenly, slamming a fist against the filing cabinet he was sitting next to. "I've cowered from him for long enough. I don't want to be _afraid_ anymore, Dean. I don't want to."

He wasn't looking at the Alpha, his gaze fixed resolutely at some point between his knees instead.

He flinched at Dean's sudden touch, looking up when Dean took a seat next to him, squeezing his shoulder. "Okay, sweetheart," he murmured, his voice soft as he let Castiel rest his cheek against Dean's shoulder. "Okay."


	6. Chapter 6

"This is a royally stupid idea," Benny muttered, shouldering a duffle bag as he made his way down into the basement.

"You're free to leave," Dean reminded him. "You're past the twenty-four hour trial run. You and Jo and Charlie can go home."

"Nah, I like Cas," Charlie said with a grin. "I want to make sure he's okay."

"I'm…I'm actually gonna take you up on that offer," Jo said, folding her arms across her chest and biting her lip. "No offense, Cas. I hope this all works out, but I don't wanna take any chances."

Castiel nodded to her. "I don't blame you, Jo. I wish I could leave too."

That, at least, made Jo crack a smile. She wrapped him up in a tight hug, letting him breathe in her scent as deeply as he liked. "I hope everything goes well," she says, hurrying out soon after and waving a quick goodbye to Sam and Dean as they passed.

"The balance of this is gonna be all fucked up," Dean muttered, frowning. "Oh well, hopefully it'll piss him off more and we'll get a better sighting out of him."

"Only you would actually _want _a pissed off spirit," Sam said with a roll of his eyes, heading down the stairs.

Castiel followed Dean, and froze when he saw the basement door open. "We have to…do we have to go down to the basement?" he asked, swallowing hard as he looked down the stairs. The basement was very well lit, and he could see it was uncluttered and clean-looking, modeled to actually service as part of the house and not just storage, but just the idea of going back underground… He couldn't shake the idea that as soon as he went downstairs, the lights would flicker out, and white hands would reach for him, dragging him towards the dark chasm of the back of the basement.

"Hey." Dean reached for him, taking his hand. "I'll be right here with you."

_I'm right here, baby brother. Focus on me._

Castiel squeezed Dean's hand hard enough that it hurt. "I'm scared, Dean," he admitted, soft and guilty.

Dean sighed, stepping back up so that he was on the same level with Castiel, and cupped his face in his hands, resting their foreheads together. "Truthfully? I am too," he said, making Castiel's eyes snap up in surprise. "I have no idea what kind of shit's gonna happen down there, but the basement is the safest damn room in the whole house. There's even a panic room down there. And…I know you've probably seen your fair share of horrible shit, Cas, and I know there ain't anythin' I can do to make it better. But I _can _make it go away. I wanna get rid of this feral son of a bitch once and for all, and I need you for that, sweetheart." He took a deep breath, running his fingers through Castiel's hair. "I need you, Cas."

Castiel took a deep breath, fingers flexing where his hands hung limply by his sides. "Okay," he finally murmured, and Dean smiled when he moved his head so that his face was buried against the Alpha's neck. Castiel took a deep, calming breath of Dean's earthy scent. "Let's get this over with."

Dean took his hand and led them down. Even though Castiel remained tense and flinched as they walked underneath the first set of lights, they did not flicker or blink out. The air in the basement was cold but not uncomfortably so and felt pleasant where nervous sweat was starting to prickle underneath Castiel's arms and around his collar.

As they entered the basement, Sam was just finished with creating a thick, large ring of salt. "Get inside," Dean said, stepping over the line and nodding in encouragement when Castiel stepped through after him. "The purity of the salt stops ghosts crossing over – they can't get us inside the circle if they should appear."

"But they can throw shit, so keep an eye out," Charlie finished. She was sitting with a large grey box in front of her crossed legs, one headphone tucked into her ear as she fiddled with the dials. Castiel frowned down in question. "This thing is our recorder – if there's anything they wanna say, this will help us hear it."

"You can hear them?" Castiel asked, shuffling over curiously and sitting down next to her while Sam and Dean and Benny finished with the preparations for the – for whatever the hell they were going to try and do down here.

Charlie grinned over at him. Her scent was thicker down here, and she smelled like fresh laundry and that certain, undeniable smell of warm rain on the horizon. "Yeah, with this. And the cameras will help us with seeing anything."

"That's how we knew the little girl was attacking Dean," Benny said.

Castiel's frown deepened. "You mean you all can't just…see her?" he asked. "Couldn't you see any of them?" They all shook their heads. "And – and Dean, last night, you didn't see Alistair either. Did you see _any _of them? Ever?"

"I've never seen one," Charlie said, shaking her head. "Not without the cameras and instruments."

"Sometimes I can," Sam said, kneeling down next to Castiel and Charlie. "Little flickers, and Dean's sensitive to them when they're around, but we can't really see them, no. Or talk to them either."

"That's so strange," Castiel murmured. "I've never had any trouble."

"Some people are more sensitive," Dean said with a reassuring squeeze to Castiel's shoulder as he sat down as well, and Benny took his place to complete the rough little circle they made up. Looking around, Castiel saw that there were now three cameras focused on the outside of the circle, their displays angled so that they could be seen by the circle. Benny was holding a small handheld in his lap, ready to snap up and start recording.

Dean held up a small remote, and the lights flickered off. "Dean," Castiel hissed, reaching out and digging his nails into Dean's thigh.

"Maybe a little warning next time," Sam said with a disapproving tone.

"Right," Dean said, and Castiel felt Dean's hand gently cover her own, squeezing. "Sorry, sweetheart." Castiel nodded, accepting the apology. His eyes were starting to adjust to the dull, slightly green glow of the displays aimed towards to them. He could just make out the silhouette of Dean's face and shoulders, and he could see Sam's face across from him, lit from the camera sat behind him. "You recordin', Charlie?" Dean asked.

She raised a thumb. "Ready and rollin', boss."

"Okay." Dean shifted his weight, taking a more comfortable spot on the floor, and Castiel was glad when he didn't let go of the Omega's hand to do so; his warm touch was comforting, and Castiel squeezed his fingers in thanks. "Benny, start filming." He gave Benny a moment until the Beta's face was lit up by the little white screen, fixed on Dean's face. "Okay, so we have Sam with the EMF, Charlie's recording…let's do this."

Castiel wasn't sure what he expected. He supposed it was foolish of him to expect ghosts to just hang around, waiting for the living to poke them with a proverbial stick. His chest hurt from how tensely he was holding himself, and he so desperately wanted to move, to stretch out, but he dared not move even an inch as Charlie held a mic to her mouth and asked the routine questions into it.

"Is anyone there?

"Who are you?"

Silence.

"Do you want to speak to us?

"Am I speaking to anyone?

"Hello?"

They sat for a long time, so long Castiel stopped holding his breath and counting the minutes, listening to Charlie ask questions and receive only static in return. The tight feeling was coming back, and every time Charlie asked a question, Castiel felt his heartbeat thump, twice, hard, behind his ribcage. He was sure he was holding Dean's hand so tightly he was causing the Alpha pain.

"Dean," Castiel said after another round. He could barely speak; he was wound so tight, waiting for the sudden drop. "Dean, please turn on the lights."

Dean heaved a sigh. "Yeah, okay," he said, but Sam abruptly reached out and caught his wrist, staying his hand. "Dude, what?"

Sam shushed him. "Listen."

At first, none of them heard anything. Then it happened again: a faint sound, muffled, and the crackle of static. It was coming from one of the duffle bags piled by the stairs.

"It's the PX," Dean said, his eyes widening. "_Fuck_."

"What does that mean?" Castiel asked.

"It means someone's trying to talk to us," Sam explained in a whisper. "It's like a voice recorder, only it can pick up ghosts that normally don't talk otherwise. They, ah." He winced. "They tend to be the nastier ones."

Castiel swallowed, his hand tightening on Dean's thigh. "You can't go out there," he said, because he could see what Dean was thinking; the Alpha was eyeing the duffle bag, and it seemed like it may as well be a thousand miles away. "As soon as you leave the circle, he'll get you, Dean."

"I have to go," Dean said, pushing his hand away with a frown. "If someone's tryin' to talk, then we gotta listen. That was the whole point of this, Cas."

"Dean, _no. _He'll kill you!" This was ridiculous – couldn't Dean see how dangerous this was? This had been a bad idea; they shouldn't have done this at all. "He'll get you, and drag you away, and you'll end up dead in some godforsaken dark place somewhere and -."

"Hey, hey!" Dean straightened up, one hand going to Castiel's shoulder and squeezing. The Omega tried to shake him off, and so Dean's hand slid up his shirt to the nape of his neck – it was a dirty move, but most Omegas went instinctively pliant at a touch to their nape.

He flinched when he felt something warm and wet. "Fuck! Cas -." He drew his hand back, holding his fingers up to the low light. "Are you bleeding?"

"I – I don't think so?"

"Guys." Benny's voice was low and tense. "The camera's pickin' something up."

"…What?" Sam asked. "What's it see?"

Benny shook his head, a frustrated huff leaving him. "It's just a shadow right now, but it looks like it's standing right behind him."

Castiel swallowed, letting Dean go so that he could cup the back of his neck. It was slick and warm, and Castiel had spent enough time around his own blood to instinctively recognize the scent and feeling of it. It felt like the mating mark at the back of it had split open, like it was brand new.

He felt a chill run down his spine and flinched, spinning around so that he was sat in the middle of the circle and facing back into the darkness.

"Oh, God…" he whispered, pressing a hand to his mouth.

It was Ruby, her yellow teeth gleaming in the white light of the cameras, her red eyes glowing. Her fingertips were reddened, and Castiel somehow knew that she had reached into the circle to rip his mating mark apart – the mark that Gabriel had given him during his Heat, in the hope that maybe Alistair would see that Castiel was claimed and it would draw his attention from his little brother.

She lifted her hand in a little wave to him, her head tilted to one side. His heart was racing in fear – he could see her with her hands still around Gabriel's neck, see the red blood on her nails and imagine it was his brother's.

"Cas, what do you see?" Dean asked. Ruby's red eyes snapped to him, and Castiel sat up, a surprisingly vicious snarl coming from him.

"Don't _fucking_ look at him," he said, pushing himself to his feet. He felt like his knees might collapse at any second, and he had no idea if he was about to faint or throw up, but it worked; her eyes came back over to him and narrowed. He took a breath, flexing his fingers. "Don't you dare touch him."

Ruby's jaw opened, and closed. The PX crackled again.

Castiel frowned. "Why aren't you talking?" he asked. Ruby blinked, and worked her jaw up and down again. "Why can't you talk?"

"Cas, the PX," Dean said, standing also. Ruby's eyes flickered to Dean, making Castiel bare his teeth at her. It was shocking to him, how readily he would threaten her when it came to Dean – was this how Alphas felt all the time? "Maybe it's them trying to talk."

Ruby blinked – or, rather, the skin around her eyes twitched together for a brief moment – and nodded, once, slowly.

Around them, a child started laughing.

Castiel narrowed his eyes. "I _know _you can talk," he hissed, reaching out to hold onto Dean's bicep and pull him closer. "I've _heard _you talk."

Ruby tilted her gaze down, and then parted her teeth wide, wider, wider, until her jaw hung down almost past her collarbone. Castiel pressed a hand to his mouth, fighting the urge to gag when he saw that her tongue was missing, and all that was left was a broken, blackened stump. It looked like something had ripped her tongue out and burned the wound shut.

"Who did that to you?" he whispered, shaking his head. The PX crackled one more time, and Ruby looked over to it, pointedly.

God, he didn't want to leave. He didn't want to go out the circle.

But he couldn't let Dean go instead.

"Fine," he hissed, dropping Dean's arm. Before the Alpha could reach for him he had crossed over the salt circle and was walking towards the duffle bags.

"Cas!" he heard Dean growl behind him, and a scuffling sound that he had to assume was someone holding Dean back from following. "Cas, get back here right now!"

The power of the order slid over him, and Castiel straightened, turning to look incredulously over his shoulder. "Did you just _Alpha Voice _me?" he demanded. Sam's arms were wrapped tight around Dean's and keeping him pulled back. A chill stole over the room and Castiel watched as Ruby slid around the circle, bending down to curiously admire Dean's anxious face. "Don't cross the circle, Dean; she's waiting for you."

"_She_?" Sam murmured, barely audible as Castiel turned back around to start rifling through the bag to find the PX.

"It's Ruby," Castiel said, returning quickly to the circle once he'd found the machine. It was crackling loudly in his hands, and once he stepped over the line of salt it zipped down into complete silence. He handed it to Dean, who shook his head and handed it over to Sam in favor of wrapping his arms around Castiel's shoulders and pulling the Omega tight to his chest. He stank of anxiety and bitter fear, and Castiel frowned. He hadn't realized just how scared Dean was until he smelled it.

"Don't do that again," Dean growled against an un-bloody part of his neck.

Castiel swallowed, pulling away. "Alright," he replied. Dean wouldn't need to ask him twice.

Ruby was slowly circling them, pressing her hand up against something Castiel couldn't see, as though there was a physical barrier between them. He supposed it must have been the salt, but that didn't explain how she had been able to tear into his neck.

He rubbed at the bite mark she'd given him, wincing at the reminder, and the PX crackled again.

"Why are you here, Ruby?" Sam asked. Castiel was the only one who could see her, although Benny could apparently see her shadow with the camera. Castiel wasn't entirely convinced that she wasn't in his head – none of the rest of them seemed to be wholly affected by her presence.

The PX made a soft ticking sound. Then: _"Alpha."_

Ruby covered her face, her shape fading and flitting in and out. She disappeared, and appeared at one corner of the room before rushing back at them. Her mouth was open as though she was screaming, clawing at her face.

"She's not saying anything," Castiel said lowly, shaking his head. "She always used to speak to me. I don't understand why she can't now."

Dean frowned. "What kind of things did she used to say?"

"Just…just the same things, really," Castiel replied. "She'd tell me to make 'them' leave, whoever that happened to be. She'd grab me and scream that they had to leave, or she'd kill me. That was – just, over and over again." He wrapped his arms tight around himself, shivering. "God, it's _freezing_."

"You're cold?" Dean's hands flattened over Castiel's arms, rubbing up and down. "Shit, yeah, you're cold to the touch."

"You're not?"

Dean shook his head. "This doesn't make any sense," Sam said. The PX had yet to make another sound.

"I know, Sammy, but -."

"No, Dean, I mean this _seriously _doesn't make sense. As in, it can't happen. We _burned _her." The younger Alpha's eyes were set on the back of Castiel's head, where he was leaning into Dean and letting the Alpha try to warm him up. "I don't think Ruby's a ghost – I think she's an echo."

There was a tense silence. "No," Dean said, shaking his head. "No, 'cause then that means…" That would mean Castiel really was going crazy. No. "Then who the fuck's on the PX?"

"Ain't that the million dollar question."

"Guys…" Charlie's small voice cut through the tense silence, and her eyes were wide in her pale face as she looked up. "I can hear a child."

"Anna," Castiel said, lifting his head. "It must be Anna."

Next to them, Ruby screamed in silence again.

"Dean, turn on the lights."

They flickered on with another click, and the group blinked rapidly to try and get their eyes to adjust. "Fuck," Benny whispered, his camera angled to where Castiel had seen Ruby standing. She wasn't there now.

Instead, it was Anna.

"It's the girl ghost," he said, shifting to a kneeling position. Dean let Castiel turn around so that he could see and Sam pushed himself to his feet, looking down as the PX crackled in his hands. "She's just…she's just standing there, grinning."

Charlie abruptly pulled out the headphones, and the sound of discordant laughter filled the air, making the rest of them flinch. "Sorry," she said, "but it was getting really fucking creepy being the only one who could hear that."

"I thought you said it was Ruby, Cas," Dean said lowly, his arms tightening around the Omega when Anna's head snapped towards him.

"It was," Castiel replied. "I don't understand."

The PX gave a huge screeching sound, making the group wince and cover their ears. _"Hello, Alpha,_" he whined, words almost lost to the static. The laughter was getting louder.

"Dean, the ghost calling for you in the hotel. It must have been the girl."

_"Smart boy."_

_"Thief!"_

_"I loved my husband! I loved him!"_

The words were all blurring together, the machine's calibrations unable to separate voice or tone. Instead the monotone mechanical voice meshed the words into one huge messy sentence. They could barely understand it.

The laughter on the playback was interrupted suddenly, and Anna's head snapped to one side. Her jaw opened wide and water spilled out, tinged red. She covered her eyes and bent down, and with a huge scream a gust of wind blew through the basement, sending the salt circle scattering.

"Shit," Dean growled, letting Castiel go suddenly and pushing him towards the other side of the room. "Go to the panic room guys! Go, now!"

_"Itsy bitsy Alpha…"_

"Fuck, that's creepy," Charlie hissed as she followed Sam and Benny into the panic room. It was a huge metallic cage, and Castiel and Dean ran for it. Just as Dean started to push through it, Castiel felt Dean suddenly stop, and he was yanked from his grasp and hauled backwards out of reach. The basement lights went dark, and he disappeared from sight.

"Dean!" Castiel yelled, searching the darkness frantically, but the small halo of light that the panic room light created was not enough to illuminate anything to him. "Dean!" he called louder, but there was no response.

The room was silent.

Castiel remained on the outside of the panic room. He couldn't just _leave _Dean behind like that.

He could hear, if he listened very carefully, the sound of something slithering.

"Cas," Sam whispered urgently. "Get in the panic room."

"I can't just _leave _Dean," Castiel hissed back, unwilling to turn his eyes from the dark void of the basement so that he could see Sam. He could hardly breathe; it was like he was back at the hotel. He hadn't thought that he could be any more scared. The blackness of the basement was absolute – Castiel knew, objectively, that the cameras at least should be illuminated, not even twenty feet away, but it was as though there was a thick fog surrounding them and blocking them out.

He almost expected the Omega ghosts to reach out to him, to drag him back to that hellish place by his ankles.

"Dean!" he yelled, louder. It felt like his entire body was collapsing with the need to scream the Alpha's name as loudly as possible, to destroy himself from the inside out if it meant Dean might hear him.

There was nothing.

A child laughed again, and Castiel heard the slithering sound getting closer. Soon those clawed hands would appear within the ring of light, the horrible vision would come back, and dragging itself along its belly like a snake, it would swallow him whole.

Anna had been there, too.

He couldn't just _leave _Dean.

"Castiel!" Sam snarled, the power in his voice surrounding Castiel like a thick fog. "Get over here!"

Castiel's fingers flexed, before curling into a tight fist. "I'm sorry, Sam," he said, and abruptly turned around, grabbing the panic room door and slamming it shut before anyone inside could react. Immediately he felt the pressure of Sam's fist slamming into the door, demanding he let them out, but he couldn't.

They'd be safe in there, at least for now.

"I have to go help Dean," he said. Without the open door the darkness fell closer, sliding around the small ring of light like moving water. Cold licked at Castiel's bare feet. It felt like the only part of him that was warm was his bleeding neck. "Please, forgive me."

"Damn it, Cas!" Sam growled, slamming his fist against the door again as Castiel turned around and squared his shoulders, staring out into the void. His heart felt like it might choke him at any moment, and cold sweat had started along his palms and down his spine, but he was determined. He was the only one who could see them. He was the only one who could _fight _them.

He looked at where his silhouette fell against the tiny halo of light.

"Well," he murmured, kicking at the light. "Gabriel would have a thing to say about that."

In the darkness, something hissed at him.

"Cas," Charlie hissed, and Castiel turned around just in time for a long metal bar to get jabbed in his direction through the tiny grate at eye-level. "Ghosts hate iron. One touch and it'll give you about five minutes. Be careful."

Castiel pressed his lips together, wrapping his fingers tight around the end of the bar. "Thank you," he said solemnly, and then promptly slid the grate shut, casting the room into darkness.

* * *

><p>Castiel walked, and walked, and walked. He knew the basement wasn't this large – he was not there anymore, but somewhere else. Or perhaps nowhere – maybe this all was inside his head, or they had managed to manipulate reality to suit them.<p>

Maybe Castiel had never left the hotel.

Maybe Dean, Sam, Jo, Charlie, Benny…maybe none of them were real.

His hand tightened around the iron bar and he shook his head with a growl. _No_. That was what they wanted him to think. He wasn't going crazy. He _wasn't_. They couldn't – they couldn't fake scent like that, _sensation _like that.

The darkness surrounded him completely. He couldn't see a damn thing, but he had months of getting used to darkness, and his senses of hearing and smell were finely tuned. He continued to walk, determined to follow wherever this hellish path led until he found Dean and pulled him out.

He knew he was being followed. He could hear the slithering, heavy slide of something following him, clawing its way across the floor as he walked. Every now and then he could feel its breath against his heels, or the tug of its claws in the legs of his jeans.

"I'm not afraid of you," he said, trying to keep his voice as calm as possible. Footsteps ran in front of him, and he stopped, tightening his hand around the metal bar and letting it tap against his thigh. "I've never been afraid of you, Anna. Come out."

There was silence around him, dark and oppressive like a physical weight against his shoulders. He turned around, and suddenly he could see walls, dimly lit as though they were glowing from within. There were claw marks along the floor, stretching out into the darkness as though someone had been dragged back along the floor and had desperately tried to resist. From in front of him, he heard someone crying.

He ran towards it.

He came across a set of stairs and ran up them, breathless by the time he reached the top and came to a large, open room. It was dirty, covered in claw marks and filth, and in the corner was a bare, single mattress stuffed right up against the walls.

He recognized that mattress, this room.

"Oh, God," he whispered, taking a step back.

He saw himself sitting on the mattress, fresh blood at the back of his neck. He wasn't alone – Gabriel was sat next to him, alive, holding the crying Omega close to his chest. Castiel remembered this moment, remembered just how it felt to have his brother holding him, the back of his neck burning from the mating bite that they'd hoped might save his life. He remembered how it had felt to feel that raw, gross guilt gnawing at him as he'd let Gabriel lay with him, all the while holding him while he cried his way through his Heat and told him it would all be okay.

Castiel turned his face away, nauseous and gasping at the sight. He didn't realize just how _angry_ he would get thinking about it. "Why am I seeing this?" he demanded, his eyes going anywhere but the sight of his past self and Gabriel in the hotel. "Show yourself!"

_"Itsy bitsy Alpha climbed into my bed  
>Mommy got angry<br>But sadly Mommy's dead!"_

Anna's laughter was almost deafening, and it chilled Castiel to the core as the vision faded, leaving a new one in its place. It was the thing that had crawled from his wardrobe, with its clawed hands and horrible yellow teeth. Castiel swallowed, holding the iron bar in both hands as he slowly approached. The thing didn't seem to be terribly interested in him. The stench of blood was sickening and Castiel gagged, shaking his head as he slowly circled the thing. The closer he got, the more he could see, and hear – the sickening crushing sound, slick tears and soft, pained growls.

When he saw what it was doing, he didn't even think – he swung the bar straight for its head, and it disappeared with a huge shriek. "Fuck," Castiel growled, falling to his knees next to the body of the mangled corpse the thing had been feasting on. "No..."

Anna flitted into sight next to him, grinning wide. When Castiel looked up at her, she clapped her hands together in delight. "He never touched you," he growled, baring his teeth at her. He squeezed his eyes shut, opening them again as the tears began to fall and he looked down into Gabriel's whiskey-colored, staring eyes. His hand landed on Gabriel's collar, twisting in his clothes as his fist tightened. "He _never_ -."

_"Alpha mean!"_

_"Monster! _Monster!"

_"I loved my husband! I loved him!"_

Castiel shook his head. "No. Gabriel didn't deserve to die."

_"Bad Alphas that touch bad things die."_

"No." He shook his head, shying away when Anna stepped over Gabriel's body and reached for him. "No. Where is Dean? Are you going to kill him too?" Anna opened her mouth wide, reaching forward with grabbing hands until she could touch Castiel's face. Abruptly the Omega was frozen, his back hitting a wall as Anna walked closer.

Up close, he could see the claw marks in her eyes, and see where the eyeball was still untouched, roving and making the scars move around. She stank of burned flesh like Ruby had, and Castiel had a moment to think that they'd never smelled of burnt flesh before he'd left the mouth, when suddenly Anna was kissing him.

Her open mouth flattened over his and Castiel found himself choking on the same black smoke that had slid down his throat in the gas station bathroom. It tasted rancid and thick on his tongue, sliding down his throat until he felt unbearably heavy with it.

He screamed, his throat parching and peeling as the black smoke slid down his throat. He screamed, and he screamed, consumed with pain he'd never experienced before, like claws were shredding him from the inside out. He flailed for the metal bar, his fingers clammy when they weakly grasped it, and he swung.

Anna caught it, grinning. Her hand burned on contact.

_"Devil child! Devil child – no!"_

_"Gotta get the Devil outta her. The Devil's natural enemy is water! Oh, Lord, purify her!"_

_"Don't touch her!"_

Then, Anna blinked. Her eyes healed right before Castiel's eyes, and her lips reformed over her grinning mouth. Her hair regained its color, red shining like the sky right before sunset. Her eyes were a beautiful pale blue, threaded with thin strands of Omega gold.

She giggled, and her eyes flashed to black.

And Castiel suddenly understood.

The realization slammed into him like a blow to the back of his head. Connections he didn't understand before suddenly threaded together like pieces of a shredded tapestry reattached with thick black string and clumsy hands.

"It was you," he whispered, unable to tear his gaze away from the abyssal black that had taken over Anna's eyes. "It was you all along."

She tilted her head back and laughed.

_"And now it's in you."_

_"Bad Alphas that touch bad things die."_

"No!" He reached forward, intending on grabbing her and forcing her to stay, to lead him to Dean, but she crawled back out of his reach, on her palms and the balls of her feet like a spider. Her jaw dropped open to the floor, and her eyes bled red through the black. "Don't touch Dean! No!"

He shoved himself to his feet, intent on chasing her, but then Ruby was there, a hand around his throat and throwing him back into the wall.

"Make them leave!" she shrieked, caught in that one threat that she had tormented him with for so long. "Devil child!"

"I'm not leaving without Dean," he hissed back, falling to the floor in an attempt to find the metal bar again. He'd beat this whole illusion to oblivion if it meant getting to Dean.

A crunch of bone caught his attention, and he turned his head to see that great slithering mass again – only it wasn't a faceless, shapeless demon, but Anna. She was kneeling over Dean's prone form, tracing her fingers across his chest, nails drawing blood. Her head tilted this way and that, cocked slightly too far like a bird with a broken neck.

"Make him leave!" Ruby hissed. Only, now, Castiel could see that it was not anger, but fear making her eyes so wide. How she was suddenly able to talk again Castiel could not say – he could only guess that Anna's presence gave her the strength to. And it suddenly made sense why she would never approach her daughter's room, why she was so intent on making those who entered the hotel who were Alphas leave.

It all made sense: why she hated Alphas so much, and why she had killed Gabriel so viciously after he had lain with Castiel.

It hadn't been Ruby at all.

It was Anna.

He pushed himself slowly to his feet. His neck was sore and bleeding all around now like some grotesque tourniquet scar. "Help me," he begged her desperately, tugging at her hand until she looked at him. Somehow, knowing now what he knew, he wasn't nearly so afraid.

He almost pitied her.

"Help me," he asked again. "Please."

Ruby shook her head, worrying her fingers together.

"Please," he said, hopelessness filling him as he saw Anna lean down, nosing at Dean's neck. His head fell limply to one side, and Castiel could see what she would do plain as day – open her mouth and lay those horrifying yellow teeth against his skin. She'd rip his throat out. "Please, Ruby. I – I need him."

Ruby looked at him, her head tilted slightly to one side. For a brief moment, so brief he could have believed he'd imagined it, he saw the red fade from her eyes into a pretty, warm, rich brown.

"He's not a bad Alpha," Castiel continued, encouraged by the brief glimpse of humanity he'd seen. "He'd never do anything bad to me."

Ruby seemed to consider that for a moment. It felt like time slowed, down to the hard thump of Castiel's heart in his head. He knew that the most time he wasted, the more time he risked Dean's life and he couldn't handle it. "Damn it, help me!" he finally yelled, taking a step towards Dean and Anna because damn it, he wasn't just going to stand there and do _nothing_ while Dean _died _right in front of him.

He barely made it a step before Ruby caught his shoulder and hauled him back. He kicked and fought her, hissing when she brought her face close to his neck. This was it – they were going to kill them both. Dean would be lost, slaughtered because some fucking demon had decided Castiel was too pretty a piece of meat to let go.

Then, she whispered words to him, so softly he could barely hear them. One of her hands rested flat against his chest, her other cupping the nape of his neck, forcing him to remain pliant and still in her hold as she whispered to him:

"E-Exorcizamus te," he said, unable to resist speaking the words, as though they were pressing against the back of his teeth and spilling out, "omnis immundus spiritus, omnis satanica potestas, omnis incursion…"

He could see it now – Alistair throwing holy water on his shrieking, writhing daughter, Ruby screaming and crying as police broke in to take him away. Anna had been dead by then, drowned in a bathtub of Holy Water.

He could see Ruby clawing Anna's eyes out; scared of the blackness she'd seen in her daughter's eyes.

The demon found them, chased Alistair down, intent on finding more Omegas to torment and destroy. He felt the visceral pleasure at watching Alphas die under its hand. And then it had come for Ruby, wearing the skin of a police officer. He could see the demon corner Ruby, slashing at her throat and her body until she'd screamed herself hoarse and bled out on that dirty, stained mattress in room 109.

"…Aeternae Perditionis venenum propinare. Ut Ecclesiam tuam secura…"

Anna screeched at him, loud enough that he had to cover his ears to protect himself from the noise. He lost the next part of the words Ruby was whispering to him, and then she was no longer standing next to him. Anna had launched herself at Castiel. Her teeth were now fangs, serrated and wickedly curved, her eyes burning with black fire, and her hair waved around her as though she was submerged in water.

Her hands curled around his throat, tightening, tightening. She screamed and dug her nails into his neck, pulling with a viciousness and determination that terrified him. Even if he knew what words to say next, he would have been unable to.

"Tibi facias," came a voice, and Anna's head snapped up, and she looked over her shoulder to hiss viciously at Dean. The Alpha rolled himself over, blood spilling from his mouth as he forced the next words of the exorcism out; "Libertate servire, te rogamus -."

Anna screamed, loud enough that the walls around them started to crack and crumble. She scrambled to her feet and ran for Dean.

Ruby caught her, nails tearing into her scalp, and held her back.

Dean smirked, his teeth bloody, eyes red. "Audi nos."

Anna shrieked.

"Adios, bitch."


	7. Chapter 7

Castiel jerked awake with a frightened yell, fighting instinctively when hands came forward to push him back down. No, _no_, he was _not _going to let some undead sons of bitches take him down _now_, after everything -.

"Cas! Cas!" He opened his eyes, but couldn't make himself see properly for some seconds. It was only when he blinked, the world abruptly slamming back into focus that he realized he was on a couch, and Charlie and Jo were holding him down with grim, determined expressions on their faces.

Something must have shown on his face, because they relaxed, and Jo knocked her knuckles against his chest. "Thank God. I thought you were gonna start biting or something."

"What happened?" Castiel demanded, sitting up. Or rather, he tried to sit up, and he tried to talk, but his voice was barely audible. His throat felt horribly sore and thin, like it had collapsed upon itself. He couldn't remember anything. "Where's Dean?"

"Dean's safe," Charlie said softly, a hand on his shoulder. "He's in his room."

That was all Castiel needed to hear. He shoved himself to his feet and barely managed to catch himself on the coffee table before he fell to the floor again. Charlie and Jo tried to get him to sit back down, but Castiel refused; he had to see Dean. He had to be sure that he was okay.

He had just made it to the top of the stairs when Dean's bedroom door flew open, revealing the frenzied and worried-looking Alpha. "Cas," he breathed, his eyes locking with the Omega's, and between one moment and the next it seemed like Castiel had fallen, because Dean's arms were wrapped tight around him and they were both kneeling on the floor, Castiel's nose against Dean's neck and Dean's face pressed tight to his hair. "Cas, thank fucking God."

"I thought you were dead," Castiel breathed, his fingers tightening in Dean's shirt as though he could pull the Alpha closer, into his body, by sheer force of will alone. He was sure they made a picture, wrapped up in each other and not even bothering to be subtle about it, but Castiel was realistic enough to admit that he had grown extremely attached to Dean, and had it not been for that, they likely wouldn't have made it out alive. "Anna was going to kill you. She was going to -."

He couldn't say it. He merely clung tighter, that pressure behind his eyes finally breaking as Dean hugged him tightly. Castiel had no idea how long they knelt like that, with him gradually soaking Dean's t-shirt with his tears, before he felt like he could handle even a tiny distance between them.

Eventually Dean pulled back, and Castiel wiped at his eyes with the heel of his hand. "You saved my life," he said, his vision blurry when he looked at Dean.

The Alpha managed a half-smile, gently tracing under Castiel's puffy eyes with his thumbs. "Just repayin' the favor, sweetheart."

And Castiel laughed. He laughed until his throat hurt, and he ran his hands across Dean's shoulders, and shook his head as though he couldn't believe they had actually made it out. The relief, the gratitude he felt was overwhelming, and brought the same pressure as his tears, clogging his throat so that he could not speak.

He closed his eyes when he felt Dean's lips pressing to his forehead, and even though he could not speak, Castiel wanted to use his mouth – now, more than ever, he wanted to use his mouth for _something_, and so he ran his fingers through Dean's hair and pulled him down so that their lips could meet. Whether it was purely an outlet for relief, or something more that made warmth coil inside of his belly and made him want to laugh all over again, he didn't bother to analyze too closely in that moment.

Next to them, Sam made an exasperated sound. "Alright, guys, Jesus."

Dean didn't break the kiss, but one of his hands left Castiel's head to flip him off over his shoulder, which earned a scattered laugh from the rest of them.

* * *

><p>They did not make it through the whole ordeal without scars. Castiel had the wounds on his neck, and to match those he now carried an impressive necklace of hand-shaped bruises and nail marks. He was prepared for quite a few judging and worried looks when next he ventured out in public. Dean had deep gouges on his chest, but he had yet to cough up any more blood. They were still on guard, and there was salt in all the doorways. Castiel still had nightmares – horrible ones where Anna had succeeded and slaughtered Dean right in front of him, or Alistair had returned, or any number of dark and horrible things that still troubled him and likely wouldn't go away any time soon.<p>

Dean made no mention of sleeping in that spare room, and Castiel never offered. He needed Dean's heartbeat in his ear to fall asleep, and to feel his warmth when he woke. The feeling, at least, seemed to be mutual – Dean spent the small hours of most mornings gently running his fingers over the marks on Castiel's neck as though he felt personally responsible for them, this shadow on his face whenever he looked at them like he wished he could kill the sons of bitches all over again just for touching Castiel.

"You came after me," he whispered, one morning when they were both lying awake with nowhere to be and no intention to leave the quiet, peaceful nest they had made together. Castiel rolled over to face him, smiling when Dean's hands traced over his cheeks, threaded through his hair. "You just – fuck, Cas, that musta been a waking nightmare for you."

"I couldn't leave you," Castiel said, wrapping his fingers around Dean's wrist and pulling down so that he could kiss his palm. "And – that was why Ruby took you. She thought you had touched me against my will. She was – she _protected _us, in the end…"

There was silence, and Castiel swallowed hard enough he heard a click in his throat.

"That's why she killed Gabriel," he admitted quietly. He hadn't told Dean yet, and Charlie had kept his secret. He raised his eyes to the Alpha's. "That mark, on my nape – it's his. When I went into Heat in that hotel, we thought Alistair would come for me, that he might leave me alone if I was already claimed and -. And I knew that. I consented. But I just…I couldn't stop _crying_."

And Alistair hadn't even been the real threat, in the end, but Anna. God, he'd been so fucking _stupid _to trust her.

Dean pulled him out of his thoughts with a soft 'Hey', curling his fingers under Castiel's chin and drawing him in for a kiss. "You did what you had to do," he said firmly. "And Gabriel was lookin' out for you, right 'til the end. He's the only reason we found you in the first place, Cas, and we put him to rest along with everyone else in that hotel."

"His blood is on my hands," Castiel replied. He wasn't denying Dean's words, but it needed to be said. Castiel was not completely innocent in everything – if he had seen the darkness in Anna sooner, perhaps Gabriel could have been spared. He felt like, now that he had lived it, he should have seen everything sooner.

Dean frowned, and Castiel could tell he was going to protest, so Castiel pushed forward and brushed their lips together again. He didn't think he would ever get used to how _intense _experiencing Dean was, how his touch was so gentle and warm, the scent of him sinking into every part of Castiel until the Omega didn't recognize his own scent unless there was some part of Dean inside of it as well.

"When, ah, when you were out," Dean murmured between kisses, as Castiel pressed himself closer until their bodies were touching completely from chest to knee, and one of Dean's thighs was threaded between Castiel's and the Omega's hands were curled into Dean's clothes at the small of his back. "Sam called the doctor, said you'd relapsed pretty bad. We managed to arrange for you to get some suppressants, if you want them."

Castiel pulled back at that, raising an eyebrow. He couldn't stop the teasing smile that spread across his face. "If?" he parroted, his grin widening at Dean's embarrassed blush.

"Yeah," the Alpha replied. Castiel could smell the interest thick on Dean, even though neither of them was back to the physical or mental place where sex was even on the table. "Your body, sweetheart: your decision."

Castiel smiled. "What a careful way to answer me," he teased, and Dean just laughed, shrugging one shoulder, unapologetic. His thumb traced the clean, sharp line of Castiel's jaw, brushing over his lower lip as the Omega thought. "I would not…I would not mind, Dean, if I happened to go into Heat in your bed."

Pressed as close as they were, Castiel felt the shudder than ran through Dean's entire body, and heard the Alpha's sudden intake of breath. "Yeah?" Dean asked softly, kissing Castiel once, quickly, just because. "You sure?"

"Yes," Castiel answered with a nod. "I am incredibly sure."


	8. Epilogue

"So, Winchester, where are we this time?"

"Well." Dean grinned into the camera, tossing a half-hearted salute its way as Benny settled it on his shoulder. "Now we're in the infamous _Goldfield Hotel _in Nevada. This place has been under construction and renovation basically since the dawn of time, and no crew has made it longer than a week before getting chased away with hauntings."

"I've got the readers ready," Sam said, and Benny swung the camera around to catch him and Jo within the frame. "Sam Winchester here, and Jo. We're the static feed crew, and cameras along with Benny." He waved to the Beta male to signify his presence.

"And Charlie as usual in her EMF throne."

Charlie grinned, waving at the camera and blowing it a kiss. "We use the EMF to listen to any of the ghosts or spirits we might not normally hear."

"We all ready to go?"

Jo grinned. "You not even gonna mention our new recruit?"

"Of course!" Dean reached out of the camera's frame, pulling in a mussed-looking Omega by an arm around his shoulders. The Omega grinned at him, laughing when Dean planted a sloppy kiss against his mouth. "And here's Cas, love of my life, sexiest Omega alive, and resident psychic!"

"I'm not psychic, Dean," Castiel said with a roll of his eyes, shrugging off Dean's hold. "Though you're entirely correct about the rest of it."

"Cas joined us after our last hunt," Sam said to the camera. "He's sensitive to ghosts and spirits, which I'm sure is a talent we'll find comes in real handy later."

Castiel nodded almost absently, looking up into the imposing façade of the hotel. Unseen by the camera, he reached out to hold Dean's hand tightly. The Alpha noticed, and lowered his handheld to whisper in Castiel's ear, "You sure you wanna do this?" Castiel's bright eyes, ringed with gold, darted towards him, then away. "No harm in stayin' in the truck, sweetheart. I know this kind of shit hits close to home."

Castiel swallowed. "I meant what I said when we first met," he said, turning so that he was facing Dean straight-on and could meet the Alpha's eyes properly. "I will not let my mate put himself in danger without me by his side. Besides," he smiled, thumbing Dean's chest where, underneath his shirt, the scars from Anna lingered, "someone's gonna have to save your butts when this goes belly-up."

Dean laughed, pulling Castiel in for another kiss. "Well said, Angel," he murmured. "Well said. Alright, guys, let's move!"


End file.
